Desecration Smile
by Diamond Mask
Summary: All Ray wants are the simple things in life. Unfortunately for him, fate, Bryan and Voltaire always seem to have it in for him... Kai x Ray and Bryan x Tala yaoi.
1. Hickeys and Hns

**Desecration Smile**

**Summary:** In his ultimate quest to give Kai a hickey, Ray finds himself facing overwhelming odds to achieve his goal.

**Disclaimer:** This authoress does not own Beyblade or any of the respective characters. Sadly, this is only an unrequited dream.

**Warnings:** Language and yaoi.

**A/N:** My second and (hopefully) better Beyblade fic. Read, enjoy AND review!

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This was so unfair.

How could _he_ be so unfair?

"Kai."

"…"

"Kai…"

"…."

He could at least have the decency to look at me while I have my pleading face on. I'll have you know that this is a very rare occasion: normally I don't have to beg. Normally all I have to do is blink and we're at it like there's no tomorrow.

"Please let me do it."

"No."

At least I'm making some progress, he said something else besides his customary 'hn'. Honestly, how could someone as intelligent and educated as Kai have a vocabulary that consists mostly of _hn_? Of course I am exaggerating somewhat, but between silences and hn's, conversation is pretty thin. Kai is most definitely not one of those unfortunate souls infected with verbal diarrhoea. He says what needs to be said when it actually matters.

Which is one of the reasons why I love him, of course. His strength, his confidence, his cool demeanour… I love everything about him. Even his annoying tenacity, which says a lot for my patience. But trying to force Kai into doing something he does not want to do is akin to attempting to grind a mouthful of iron nails into powder using your teeth.

Add the fact that he is so beautiful I forget to breathe every time I look at him and I enter this mindless daze where I can only stare and marvel at his exquisite perfection. But as much as that is true and worth fantasizing over for many hours, it has jack to do with my current argument. Right now I'm willing to strangle the stubbornness out of his gorgeous body.

"I only want to try it once, Kai. I _promise_."

"If I remember correctly, you said the same thing about the handcuffs."

So? Have I been forcing you to use them for the past three months?

Biting back that retort, I resort to pouting. Usually this is the point when he gives in, but apparently the laptop is more important than my needs, which is completely unacceptable. Thinking hard, I decide the aptly named petulant whine should work. It has rarely failed me before.

My theory works in two ways: usually, I employ this dirty tactic to get his attention away from work and on me where it rightfully belongs by forcing him to kiss me to keep me quiet. And when to comes to me and Kai, one kiss always leads to another. Extremely effective and definitely enjoyable for both of us in the long run.

The second tactic is the trickier of the two but it is a method I have honed into a fine art with many hours of practice: denial.

Simple sweet denial.

I whine, Kai tries to kiss me to shut me up, I push him away. And believe me, this is what took hours of practice. After that, he becomes mad, annoyed and decidedly pissed off. But after Kai has become frustrated, he needs a certain outlet which only I can supply.

I am so brilliant it even scares me.

So what do I do when he comes back to me? C'mon people, the only thing I would do is to make it worse!

Anyway, after ten straight minutes of refusal, Kai gets desperate. When I see that happening, I usually start to relent because he looks so adorable and let him have a small taste before pushing him away again. Then when he's really pissed, I let him have it.

I purr.

A soft, seductive rumble that goes directly to the part of his brain that controls his 'urges'. I'm sure you can imagine how this affects him.

You should see the look on his face when he hears it, it's absolutely priceless. He freezes with this wild gleam in his eyes and looks completely vulnerable, an expression I can personally guarantee you have not and never will see in your lifetime. Basically in this condition I can either get him to do whatever I want or submit and wait for the real fun to start. And believe me, I take full advantage whenever the first opportunity arises.

How else do you think I got him to agree to the handcuffs?

However, the probability of it working this time is slim. Like I said before, Kai is smart. Real smart. It's only a matter of time before he sees through my 'innocent' intentions. Well, I don't care. It should be easy enough this time, I reason to myself, since we're already on the bed anyway.

He will give in one way or another.

Eventually.

Someday.

Aw, who am I kidding? Kai will never give in to _this_. I have a better chance of convincing Tyson to become anorexic or persuading Max to believe mustard is poisoning his body (actually, this may be true- I could have sworn his skin had a distinctly yellow tinge the other day). This entire sorry affair will end the way it usually does: me flat on my back, hot, sweaty and begging.

But the petulant whine will have to do since I have nothing else in my arsenal. Pathetic as that may sound, there isn't much else that will break through Kai's steel defences. I have tried various other techniques, the most intricate and devious methods I can come up with, but nothing works on him.

Unless I try the tears approach.

It works like a charm, especially on Kai but I hardly ever use it because it leaves behind this awful feeling of guilt. He hates to see me cry and I hate to see him look upset. Besides, he always knows the difference between real tears and crocodile tears. I have never _ever_ gotten away with fake tears. Honestly the boy is to smart for his own good and I have no idea how he does it.

See how my own boyfriend forces me to use sneaky tricks to get him to cooperate?

I sigh. It will have to be the whine.

"Kai…." I whimper pitifully, crawling forward on the bed and staring up at him through my lashes.

He tries not to look at me and fixes his gaze on whatever document has just lost the battle for his attentions. "It won't work this time," he warns me, inching ever so slightly away from where my wandering fingers have begun tugging on his pants.

Yeah right. If I had a dollar for every time you said that, I'd be able to buy out Bill Gates.

"Ray, I said no."

Your lips may have said "no" but your eyes said "oh god, _yes_".

"Do you really want me to leave?" he asks, now being distracted by the shirt which was slowly creeping up his flat stomach. "I have work that I need to do and you know I can't concentrate when you do that."

No, it is my life's ambition to be the best pest I can be. Notice that he hasn't exactly done anything to stop me so far. But Kai is right, he does have business to attend to: a horny neko-jin desperately in need of attention right NOW. And if I do not get that attention, there will be HELL to pay.

I pop some buttons on the shirt, growling playfully as my thumb finds its target, namely the sensitive spot just below his bellybutton. I hear a sharp intake of breath as my fingertips begin to lightly tickle his skin.

"I said no."

"But Kai, no one will see it here…"

He rolls his eyes, trying in vain to pry my fingers away from his waist. Fat chance of me letting go- once I have Kai where I want him, there is no way in hell I would let him get away. Now perhaps I can do what I wanted to do in the first place.

"Can I do it now?"

He twists around to glare at me and I grin cutely, leaning back on the bed to gaze up at him. And there it is, the tiniest flicker in his crimson eyes that tells me his resistance is crumbling.

"For the last time Ray, you cannot give me a _hickey_!"

"Why not? You give them to me all the time so it's only fair!"

He does not reply, but frowns. I sigh. Kai can be so difficult at times, I swear he does it on purpose to rile me up. Which, on top of everything else he does for me, is considerate to my needs since I like to be frustrated a little sometimes too. Could Kai be any more perfect?

If he would just let me give him a hickey, then yes he would be.

Kai watches me carefully and I yawn exaggeratedly, stretching my arms across his lap. I ignore the warning glance and begin to unravel my hair. My crowning glory, the silky black mass that is a bitch to maintain but a joy to display, cascades in a waterfall over his bare legs.

Normally Kai is the epitome of self-control.

Except when it comes to my hair.

He loves to run his hands through it, to bury his face in it. He never says so, but when his hands are tangled in my hair and he refuses to let go, its pretty obvious. Every night we both fall asleep with Kai stroking my head since it relaxes us both. He also has this really cute habit of twining a few strands around one finger when we cuddle or when he's just thinking.

I can see his eyes flick down to it and the hand on the bed twitches. I twist a little on his lap, my hair swishing over his thigh to pool between his legs. He swallows.

"Don't think I'm going to give in to this hickey scheme of yours."

I smile. "Hn."

He smirks and pulls me up before I can resist, hand gripping the back of my neck to pull me closer, the other entwined in my hair. As well as being a flawless specimen of a human being and child prodigy, Kai is a wonderful kisser (although this should come as no surprise to you) and can perform some amazing stunts with his tongue.

I have heard from some, namely Tala, that you really could see stars when someone kissed you.

Kai, on the other hand, does not make me see stars. He sends me straight into the centre of the sun, into total meltdown.

I think I can hear my brain being reduced to mush. Tip me over and I guarantee you'll hear it sloshing around. But the fact that my brain has ceased to function does not even matter, because I have just hit heaven.

His kiss becomes more demanding and I become more willing, pressing myself closer and twining my arms around his back. I feel his lips curve into a smile against mine and before I know it, I'm flat on my back.

Hot, sweaty and begging.

See, I told you it would turn out this way. Maybe I should consider prophesising as a career after I quit blading. Then again, it was really predictable. I know I was supposed to get him to what I wanted, but unfortunately I have almost zero resistance against Kai.

Damn him and his overpowering sexiness.

"K-Kai…"

He nuzzles my neck, giving me a playful little nip here and there that will see me borrowing one of his scarves tomorrow. Can you believe he is actually _proud_ of this? Cause normally he guards his precious scarves like a rottweiler guarding a chunk of raw meat. I should know what he's like without one and believe me, it is not a pretty sight.

Hell hath no fury like a Hiwatari without a scarf.

Once Tyson and Max thought it would be funny to steal one of his patented white scarves and fly it above the dojo like a flag. After Kai got through with them, they would not dare to even look at the dreaded scarf that parks permanently around his neck. Sometimes I can still hear Tyson crying "no, not the scarf! Anything but the scarf!" in his sleep. Poor guy. But it serves him right for messing with the scarf.

I actually do love wearing it though. His clean scent usually clings to it like an exotic perfume and its unbelievably soft and warm, just like its owner. Whenever we have to be apart for some reason, I sneak one with me. Kai knows, but he also understands. Honestly, he can be so sweet sometimes that it makes my teeth ache.

But never mind that. I know you must be dying to get back to the making out.

As he gives me yet another hickey to add to my collection, I lift my head to glare at him. Alas, he manages to distract me yet again by planting a flaming kiss on my lips. I can only moan helplessly and completely melt into his embrace. Adrift in a sea of surrender, receiving one hot kiss after another, I finally give in and start unbuttoning the shirt I had abandoned earlier.

Then Kai does the unthinkable.

He pulls away. He pulls away from ME.

Not to admire me in all my glory like he should, but to slide off the bed and grab his laptop. And then exit the room without a backward glance. Did I happen to mention that besides being an almost perfect boyfriend, he could also be a complete and utter bastard?

"Kai!"

I only hear the soft patter of his receding footsteps.

"Kai, you cannot leave me here like this!" I yell desperately.

The bluenette head I have come to adore pokes around the doorframe to smirk at me. "Something wrong?"

I glare at him. "You know exactly what's wrong. Now get over here and _fix_ it."

"Oh, I don't think so."

My mouth falls open. "What?"

He winks at me and my legs turn to jelly against my will. "Turnabout is fair play, Ray."

"That is _not_ fair!"

Kai has the audacity to continue smirking in the face of my predicament. "Hn," he answers and disappears into the colossal labyrinth he calls a house.

Meanwhile I lie there, unsatisfied and very much pissed off. And to top it off, I never got to give him a hickey.

Could this day possibly get any worse?

Kai pops back into the room. "By the way," he says casually, "my team will be coming to visit tomorrow and they'll probably be staying for a couple of days."

"I am your team," I point out, still glaring at him. "Besides, Tyson and the others said nothing about coming to visit when I called them yesterday."

"My _other _team, Ray."

Oh no.

Why me? _Why_?

Obviously enjoying my sense of impending doom, Kai delivers another bombshell to further flatten my life before callously leaving me to wallow in deep despair. "Bryan said that he is looking forward to seeing you again."

Okay, now God is really screwing with me.

You know, when Bryan started dating Tala, I thought he would calm down. Wishful thinking. He takes some bizarre pleasure in making the lives of everyone around him miserable, except for his boyfriend and obviously Kai.

Tala, on the other hand, is a pretty nice guy and I have no clue what attracts him to Bryan, the boy demon. I suspect the answer lies in the bedroom and no, I do not want to go there. Just seeing them together is disturbing enough.

But back to my problems. How am I supposed to get a hickey on his body with those four floating around? It will be impossible to get Kai alone for five seconds, let alone give him one on a very prominent place!

I need a miracle.

And Buddha better be listening.

**TBC**


	2. Is spaghetti sexy?

**Desecration Smile**

I finally figured it out.

Sadly, 'it' is not how to give Kai a hickey. Even after an hour of seething and plotting, that particular solution still eludes me. What I did manage to figure out was how the boy demon managed to ensnare Tala. After all, Tala is normal and Bryan is another species altogether.

Their relationship must be an act of God.

The problem is, I doubt God would curse a great guy like Tala with the plague that is Bryan Kuznetsov. So after another hour of careful deliberation, I finally settled on this nifty little saying that I heard from Hilary once: **You cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.**

See? This perfectly explains how Bryan managed to get his claws into Tala! He must have been so freaked out by the boy demon staring at him with lust in his eyes and following his every movement that he gave in just to make it _stop_. I suppose Tala could have beaten Bryan to a bloody pulp instead, but that would negatively affect the team morale. Why? Because Bryan would have beaten him back and eventually they would have killed each other. Bam, no more Blitzkrieg Boys.

Actually, the consequences of that theory might not be so bad. Kai will be free to join the White Tigers and then I will have more of an opportunity to have him to myself. Unfortunately, I may not be able to prevent him from killing Mariah and Lee out of sheer annoyance. Even my devastating appeal may not be incentive enough for him to leave them unscathed. And that, as you may be able to guess, will cause considerable tension between me and my team-mates.

So… maybe it is a good idea for the Blitzkrieg Boys to continue existing. Which means that it is a good idea for Bryan to continue doing something as normal as dating (although I suspect he may re-define my concept of dating as 'screwing'). Either way, it definitely benefits the rest of us.

I wipe a tear from my eye and make a mental note to thank Tala for his amazing self-sacrifice. After all, I imagine that a horny Bryan is even more of a nightmare to deal with than the 'normal' one. Thank god Tala is around to relieve the rest of us from that joyous experience.

So why am I allowing my thoughts to dominated by them and not the hickey scheme?

Simple. As of tomorrow, they will be dominating this house, invading the private domain that I share with Kai. Do you have any idea of how difficult it is to sneak a few minutes alone with him when four bladers are constantly floating around like freaking ghosts? In a house this big, they should not be able to do that. It took me three _weeks_ just to be able to find my way to the kitchen without getting lost and yelling for Kai to rescue me.

Not to mention that all four of them also have this unnerving ability to find Kai. A million different rooms and they _always_ know which one Kai is in at any time (and when I say any time, I mean _any_ time). In other words, my sex-life is officially dead when the Blitzkrieg Boys come to visit. And I swear they do it on purpose. Its like they're playing a game of seek and destroy, with the aim of the game being to destroy any possibility of intimacy between me and Kai. And nine times out of ten, Bryan is the main instigator and culprit.

Surprised yet?

Sometimes, out of sheer desperation, I sneak into the shower with Kai and we enjoy a precious ten minutes until the water gets cold and forces us out. Much as we make full use of those minutes, it's never enough. So we take it eagerly to the bedroom, dripping wet and wrapped up in one towel. It should be bliss. It never is. One of them is always waiting for Kai and strangely enough, they are never disturbed by our naked and obviously horny states. It's a damn conspiracy I tell you!

Suffice to say, the mood is killed long before Kai gets back from fulfilling some absurd request so obviously designed to irritate me. Dead and buried, six feet under just like our dear old sex-life.

You must be wondering by now, why Kai allows this to happen. Why does he let a group of psychotic bladers (okay, so Bryan is the only one you can really call psychotic but I have been wondering about Ian lately) interfere with his and more importantly _our_ love life? You would think, as well as I would, that a Hiwatari does not tolerate that kind of behaviour. He should be ordering them around like his servants or something. Or at the very least tell them to bugger off.

But Kai, believe it or not, has a bit of a soft spot for them. Normally this would make me go "Aww, c'mere you!" and hug the stuffing out of him, but this time it is unacceptable. They are depriving me of 'quality time' with my boyfriend! Yes, I know that they have a whole tragic past together and have shared many hardships, but this is ridiculous.

The good news is that once they leave, Kai and I hop back in the sack. And after days of pent up frustration, all I can say is that it's better than chocolate. Yum.

Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I used chocolate on Kai… or whipped cream for that matter. That tells me that I need to start training properly again cause I'm getting lazy and those creative juices have so not been flowing lately.

Speaking of food, my stomach reminds me rather noisily that I should be putting my mouth to better use than just kissing boys.

Wondering idly what culinary masterpiece Kai has whipped up for tonight, I slide off the bed, taking care not to drag his Dranzer plushie with me. But I pause and hold it briefly in my arms, smiling as I remember the day I gave it to Kai.

It was two days after the Justice Five tournament and I was flying back to China to visit my family for a week. Kai had wanted to come with me but his doctor recommended that he not make the long trip since he was still a little battered from his match against Brooklyn. So I, being the thoughtful boyfriend that I am, gave him the Dranzer plushie to keep him company while I was gone. He looked at it dubiously at the time but thanked me with a passionate kiss anyway. However, Tala has since told me that Kai slept with it next to him the whole time I was gone (yes, they gleefully seized the opportunity to invade the mansion yet again with the excuse that someone had to 'look after' Kai). He also told me that Bryan said it looked like a giant red chicken that overdosed on growth hormones, which really pissed me off at the time.

Looking at it now, I have to admit that he may have a point.

I set it down gently on his pillow, parking it right next to the matching Drigger plushie where it rightfully belongs and make my way down to the kitchen. The house is surprisingly quiet, even for this time of night, but unlike his grandfather, Kai despises having an army of servants waiting on him hand and foot. Of course he still has them but he makes sure they have disappeared by late afternoon so we have the place to our naughty selves for night-time games.

The second I walk through the door, the most heavenly smell hits me like a sledgehammer and my stomach gives a deafening rumble. Kai lifts his head from the bubbling pot and smirks.

"Hungry?" he asks, raising a brow in a decidedly suggestive manner.

I smirk right back, anticipating that supper may be taking a backseat this evening. "Starving."

He motions me to sit down and I do, grinning like an idiot until I realize what the smell is.

No.

He_ didn't_.

Meanwhile, he just stands there, looking completely innocent, with the smirk now in danger of being permanently etched on his face. "I'll have dinner on the table in a minute."

Damn.

I watch his every movement as he spoons an ample helping onto my plate and sets it down in front of me with a flourish, flashing a knowing smile. I stare at the plate and then my gaze moves up to rest on his face. "You did this on purpose!"

"I thought it was one of your favourites," he replies with feigned surprise. "Usually you finish off all the leftovers by yourself and refuse to share. Look, I even sprinkled it with extra cheese. Just the way you like it."

I stare miserably at the delicious meal sitting in front of me. He was right. Spaghetti bolognaise was one of my favourites.

It was also the messiest and most undignified meal in existence. How the hell can I seduce him by eating _this_?

And he know_s_ it.

"Kai!"

He sits down with his own plate and picks up his fork, twirling the spaghetti around it elegantly. "Hn."

I stare accusingly at him as he continues to eat. How can he eat without letting a single drop of sauce splash on his chin or sweater? How?

My eyes drop down to my own meal. I on the other hand, cannot eat spaghetti without making a huge mess. Much as I love it, the sauce always ends up on my face and sweater. I can't help it.

And it is impossible to feel sexy with spaghetti sauce rubbed on your skin. Believe me, I know from awkward experience.

Tentatively, I reach out to twirl a single strand of spaghetti around my fork, holding it as far away from me as I can and wince as the delicious red evil winks at me. I move it closer and closer…

"Damn it!"

Those red eyes look up with an amused glint. "Having trouble, Ray?" he asks amiably, taking a casual sip of his water.

"No," I hiss, glaring hatefully at the red spot now marring my white sweater.

I should have known Kai was going to pull something like this. The minute he walked out of that room two hours ago, I should have known. Tch, using my favourite food against me? Really, that is something I would expect from myself rather than Kai.

I sigh. He smirks.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He shrugs, pretending indifference.

"You enjoy _torturing_ me."

"Hn."

"…"

"…"

"You think this is _funny_?"

He swallows calmly and chuckles. "Hilarious."

"Hah. Hah. Your tremendous wit is _killing_ me."

His eyes stray pointedly to the red stain on my sweater. "I can see that."

Resisting the urge to throw my spaghetti in his gorgeous face, I settle for gouging chips of wood out of the antique table with my fingernails and grinding my teeth from frustration for emphasis. He watches serenely. After all, what is one table when you can afford ten million more?

Finally, I give up after glaring at him for five minutes straight. I'm starving and the spaghetti is starting to smell really good.

"Good kitty."

"…"

I am going to pretend I did not hear that. Else I might just bite through an artery when I give him the inevitable hickey. He knows very well that I hate being called 'kitty' for the number one reason that it is Bryan's mode of address for me whenever I have the misfortune of sharing a breathing space with him. Also, whatever I may look like, I am _not_ a cat. I am a neko-jin, a person that happens to look a _teensy_ bit like a real cat. You would think that after all this time, people would know that.

Normally I would have been insulted by the above comment, but I know Kai would never say anything deliberately to hurt or offend me. This time though, his sweetness is a little lost on me.

By the time I finish eating, Kai is openly laughing at me. In dismay, I look down to see that my sweater now resembles a canvas that someone let loose a crazy clown on. Red polka dots of spaghetti sauce now decorate my chin as well and I wipe it away carefully with my napkin, glowering in his direction.

Shaking his head bemusedly, Kai rises from the table and pats my head, letting it linger for a few seconds to stroke my hair gently. "I'll take care of the dishes. You go and get cleaned up."

Ordinarily this sweet gesture would see me glomping him. Now however, it is a _challenge_.

He may have won this battle but the war is NOT over until I plant a hickey on his neck. Thankfully, I have one more night until the terror team arrive to destroy any chances I have of doing so. And I am going to make Kai _beg_ for that love-bite.

I wonder if we still have that leftover chocolate mousse in the refrigerator…

**TBC**

**A/N:** Thank you SO much for all the reviews so far (and I hope there will be many, many more because this authoress feeds of reviews and needs them to continue writing). So the next chapter will see some bedroom action from Kai and Ray as our intrepid neko-jin attempts to give Kai a hickey before the Blitzkrieg Boys show up to ruin (create) the fun. Also feel free to suggest any possible situations that you may want to see poor Ray get himself into and I will gladly use them, particularly if my own inspiration runs dry.


	3. Bringing sexy back

**Desecration Smile**

Chocolate mousse?

Check.

Whipped cream?

Check.

Specialized fluffy handcuffs?

Double check.

Outfit?

I eye myself in the mirror and smirk. _Definitely_ check.

Looking at my choice of clothing for the night I never realized that simplicity could be so sexy. Of course it was a basic reflection of what I wore every night, but with subtle and more importantly seductive differences. My loose black pants were made out of this silky material that was simply amazing to the touch and the dark colour emphasised the golden tones of my eyes. Add the soft candlelight, ambient music and the glossy wealth of hair flowing down my back and Kai was sure to cave in to my every demand. And for throwing this all together in less than ten minutes, I should receive a reward for my supreme efforts. Okay, so I did do this every other night anyway, but this time it was special. Tonight was the night I was going to give Kai a hickey. I could _feel_ it.

Thinking back to my mental list, I note that the only thing still missing is Kai himself. But he should be along shortly if I know him at all.

After running off to cleanse myself of spaghetti sauce and leaving him to take care of the dishes, I had had a precious five minutes to formulate my plan of seduction. And being the resourceful and sly neko-jin that I am, I already had it and began putting it into action the minute I leapt out of the shower. Kai normally follows the same procedure after dinner and watches the evening news before coming upstairs and getting into a shower or bubble bath with me. Unfortunately for both of us, we would be having separate cleansing sessions tonight. On the plus side however, it did give me the extra ten minutes I needed to set up in our bedroom.

Seduction is a tricky business and you have to pay close attention to the finer details because rejection comes very easily. Well, not that I have to worry about rejection. Kai is incapable of rejecting me. Sadly I am also incapable of rejecting him, which is why it is taking me this long to give him the damn hickey.

I stretch my arms above my head, admiring myself one more time in the mirror. Regrettably, I can still smell the faint aroma of spaghetti sauce that the scent of the cinnamon candles has failed to mask. Remember folks, spaghetti is not sexy. Delicious to be sure, but it will not get me laid. And I am sure you want that to happen as much as I do. I examine myself with a frown. I must have missed a spot somewhere in the shower… either that or some of it managed to get into my hair.

Taking one last look around the room, I resist the urge to pat myself on the back. The soft ambience is perfect for my plans and I dim the electric lights accordingly to accentuate the candlelight. The chocolate mousse and whipped cream are standing ready on the bedside table, just waiting to personally acquaint themselves with Kai all over again. The fluffy handcuffs are snug in my pocket, waiting to surprise Kai and make sure that he cannot subdue me. Everything is perfect.

Tiptoeing to the door, I peek around the corner to see if I can hear him coming. And there it is, the soft squelching of wet feet on a wooden floor. I scurry out of sight before he comes into view and head straight for the walk-in closet. It is the perfect hiding place for me since Kai will have no need to get dressed once he sees what I've done. I watch with barely contained glee as Kai, damp and naked save for a towel wrapped around his waist, enters the room and stops. His crimson eyes take in every detail with unconcealed interest before a slow smile spreads across his face.

Kai makes his way casually to the bed and sits down, making sure the towel falls away slightly from his exquisitely toned body. He leans back invitingly against the pile of pillows I propped there for that exact purpose and smirks. "So how long are you going to keep me waiting, Ray?"

God knows I would like to make him wait for hours so that his frustration levels skyrocket, but I lack the saintly patience that is needed for a mammoth task like that.

I open the door, carefully restraining myself at the sight of water droplets still sliding enticingly over flawless skin. If I fall under his spell now, the terrible quartet will have won even before they have arrived and I will kick myself because it means _more_ waiting. Pausing for a moment, I allow his eyes to devour me before beginning a move that I have dubbed the 'Tiger'. It was either this or an impromptu striptease to _Sexy Back_. However, Kai despises Justin Timberlake and I want to turn him on not off.

Besides, the Tiger technique has yet to fail me. It means exactly what it says and is certified, not to mention proven many times over, to drive Kai wild.

Running my tongue deliberately along my upper lip, I glide forward leisurely, one foot in front of the other. Aware that my hair sways in precise conjunction with my hips and the stalking movement is causing his breath to quicken, my eyes lock with his heated gaze. As I walk towards the bed, I purposefully let a low growl escape my throat just to make him squirm.

I am the hunter, he is the hunted.

Right?

At least that is what it should have come off as. What should have followed was Kai being driven wild with anticipation and begging me to lay claim to his neck. What should have followed was me getting that hickey on him.

What followed instead was that I tripped.

Yeah, my face is currently glued to the floor with my lips kissing wood. _Exactly_ the devastatingly sexy impression I wanted to make on Kai.

"Ray!"

I should have known baggy pants were a bad idea for the Tiger. Perhaps I should have stuck with Justin and brought sexy back. I struggle awkwardly to my feet in quiet agony, holding up both hands in protest to my concerned boyfriend. Now at this point I meant to say, 'No, I'm fine' but somehow it came out sounding like this: "Nobe, I'b fime."

Now what the fuck was _that_?

He leans forward, looking at me suspiciously. "Really. It looks and sounds like you hit your nose quite hard."

Whirling around to face the mirror, I curse under my breath and then stop dead. Oh my god, I think I can see it swelling right before my eyes.

It looks _awful_. Oh no, what will I do if it's _broken_? And to make it worse, I sound like I have two massive wads of cotton wool shoved up my nose!

On the plus side, it is kind of cool that I could probably do a pretty good impression of Rudolph right now if I wanted to.

Calm down, Ray. Calm down. I take deep breaths, trying not to look at my disfigured reflection. This is only a minor setback, a little obstacle in my quest. I may seem like a complete klutz, but I can still pull off a seductive air, right?

"Id wad jud a small bump," I insist, testing my nose gingerly with one finger and barely managing to control the wince as I sneeze violently.

Kai raises a brow. "You hit the floor face first, Ray. It was _not_ a small bump."

"Did nod." At least I don't think I hit the floor face first. That part is still a little fuzzy.

"…"

"Okay, do id did hurd a liddle," I grudgingly admit. Damn it, why can I _never_ lie?

He sighs, holding out his arms and shaking his head. "Come here."

Even with the adorable promise of an 'I'll kiss it better' unmistakable in his voice, I cannot give in.

"It might be broken," he warns me. "You should let me check it."

I shake my head resolutely. "Id nod bwoken," I answer stubbornly. "I'b _fime_!"

Kai rolls his eyes and gets up from the bed before I can pull him back. No, he cannot leave. I _refuse_ to have all my careful planning go to waste. Desperately, I grab his arm and thanks to my innate neko-jin agility, manage to drag him back and straddle his legs. "I'b nod ledding you ged away!"

He blinks as my hair swishes over his face and shakes his head, a little smile tugging the corner of his mouth. "You need some ice for that 'bump'," he says dryly, tucking a strand of dark hair behind my ear. "Unless you want Bryan to tease you about how much it resembles a squashed tomato."

I would have scowled, but my nose hurts too much. Instead I sneeze again and Kai makes a face, twisting out from under me.

_Click._

He freezes, staring down in disbelief at the fluffy warmth around his wrist. His eyes travel up to me and then back to the bedpost that I have successfully handcuffed him to.

What, did you really think I was going to let him get away that easily?

"You just don't give up, do you?" he asks in exasperation, tugging futilely at the handcuffs. It is highly unlikely that he will succeed, since I specially ordered those with him in mind: soft and warm but deceptively strong. They will hold unless he can somehow get hold of an axe and chop down the bedpost. Actually, I would not put it past him to manage that. But for now, I have him trapped and helpless.

Lucky me.

I give him the most mischievous smile I can manage under the circumstances. "Nobe."

Finally, I have Kai exactly where I want him. Licking my lips in anticipation, I zero in on his neck. I can already taste him and I close my eyes, lips parted.

My lips come closer… closer… and touch nothing but air.

"Whad!"

My eyes fly open to see Kai smirking at me and swinging the handcuffs idly from one finger. At my astounded expression, the smirk grows wider.

"I keep the spare key under my pillow for emergencies," he informs me smugly.

I sigh and swallow my disappointment. But at the same time I can't help feeling this little spark of pleasure: does this guy know me or what? Grumbling under my breath, I give in and allow myself to be enfolded in his warm embrace.

"I'll get some ice in a minute," he says softly into my hair and I nod, my chin resting on his shoulder. Still, I can't help sneaking a sideways glance to his perfectly exposed neck. If I'm _really_ quick…

"Don't even think about it."

Rats.

He lets me go after another minute and I smile gratefully at him. "I lub you."

"I love you too."

"… Can I do id now?"

"No."

Double rats.

Kai disappears downstairs, giving me a great view of his naked ass and taking the sweet desserts with him. After all, we may need them again in the very close future and it would be a damn shame to let those delicious treats go to waste. I briefly consider following him but I need a few minutes to adjust to the fact that I just failed AGAIN. If I was a negative thinker, I would be considering the possibility that maybe I was never meant to do this but fortunately I am not. I believe in the power of positive thinking and I trust whole-heartedly that I will persevere if I keep trying.

If only fate would stop _screwing_ with me, I would be celebrating my victory right now.

When Kai comes back five minutes later, I am still wallowing in a pool of misery. He looks at me sympathetically and strokes my head, handing me the ice pack. I press the cool relief to my aching nose and a sigh of relief escapes my mouth. The bed dips beside me as Kai sits down and I lean appreciatively into his familiar warmth.

"I think you need an early night."

Hidden implication of that statement: get all the rest you possibly can because tomorrow is going to be hell, especially with a nose like _that_.

"Yeah… maybe."

I lean closer and he wraps an arm around my waist. Coincidentally, this also happens to be the perfect position for a love-bite since my head is now once again resting on his shoulder.

"Ray!"

"Sorry."

Kai shakes his head. "What am I going to do with you?" he sighs.

"I have a few suggestions about that."

"…"

"_Fine_…"

Ten minutes later and both of us are snuggled in bed. It would be nice if we could cuddle a bit before falling asleep, but my huge nose keeps getting in the way so we both give up pretty quickly. Both of us are quiet and I rest my head on his chest while he stares at the ceiling and absent-mindedly strokes my hair.

"Ray?"

I mumble a sleepy reply, my eyes already drifting shut.

"Don't worry about tomorrow."

"... Really." I answer mostly just for the sake of speaking since the swelling has gone down a bit and I sound more like my normal self.

He shifts slightly so that he can see my face. "I mean it. No matter how they may act, they really do like you."

"And their behaviour proves that how…?"

He laughs softly. "I never said I _understood_ it. But I know they like you. If they didn't… you would have run away screaming by now."

The scary thing about that statement is that he's probably right. If they really hated me, I would have been in a straightjacket by now, never mind leaving Kai. They tend to have that effect on people, especially Bryan. Actually, _all_ because of Bryan but sadly its become a group label.

After several moments, I finally break the comfortable silence. "I'll behave if they behave. No promises beyond that."

"Hn," he replies drowsily.

I look up to see his eyes drifting shut and smile. _Perfect_.

His defences are weakened.

Unfair and devious as I know it is to prey on Kai while he is asleep, I am getting desperate here. The Blitzkrieg Boys will be arriving in a matter of hours and I have still not accomplished my goal. I wait patiently for his breathing to become shallow and even and eventually after a tedious forty five minutes, Kai is finally asleep.

I raise myself carefully over him and he shifts onto his side, unknowingly permitting easier access to his neck. Admittedly, it would be way more fun to do this while he's awake, but Kai is being an ass about the whole thing so he has driven me to this.

Gently, I move a lock of soft blue hair out of the way and lower my mouth to the warm skin. This is it. The moment that I have been waiting for ever since I first laid eyes on Kai. My lips part in breathless anticipation.

_Click._

"Nice try, Ray."

Absolute silence.

"… I hate you."

**TBC**

**A/N:** Poor, poor Ray. Honestly, you have no idea of how tempted I was to go on a full out yaoi rampage in this chapter! But I managed to restrain myself cough. A big thank you goes out to **hoshicat** for suggesting that Ray attempt to give Kai a hickey while he is sleeping- I hope you liked the way I worked it into the chapter. Once again, thank you for all the reviews. This authoress is eternally grateful! Next chapter: the Blitzkrieg Boys arrive to cause more havoc for our favourite little neko-jin.


	4. Welcome to my nightmare

**Desecration Smile**

If I wake up and Kai has not removed those handcuffs, he will have to fend off an angry neko-jin on top of dealing with his psycho friends. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to fall asleep with your hand cuffed to the bed? Hah, 'get an early night' my _ass_.

Without opening my eyes, I grope towards his side of the bed. If I can reach that, I don't have to punish Kai by denying him access for a few days. He had better consider the consequences of his actions more carefully next time, because Kai-deprivation can make me very cranky and the results are generally catastrophic. Seriously, a stressed and frustrated neko-jin is as bad as Bryan on crack.

My fingers touch nothing but a warm dent in the mattress. So my hand is free, but Kai is gone. I manage to crack my eyes open and the first thing that catches my attention is the fluffy object resting innocently on his pillow. Hand inching suspiciously towards it, I snatch the note that Kai left beside it.

_**From now on I'll be sleeping with one eye open. **_

You know, he has some nerve. He even left the stupid handcuffs behind and I _know_ he is laughing at me for it. Well, he won't be laughing for long if I have my way. First thing on my agenda this morning will be to hunt down that spare key. Kai shouldn't be allowed to use anything against me unless it's his natural sex appeal and even that is cheating in my book.

Right now though, I have to concentrate on mustering the energy needed to drag myself downstairs.

But I take a minute to just lie in peaceful silence. Sunlight is streaming through the window, the birds are singing, the bed is pleasantly warm… all in all, a perfect day. And seeing as it is one of those perfect days, I immediately begin planning what Kai and I will be doing.

First, a nutritious and delicious breakfast courtesy of the legendary Yulya. Then after that, a walk in the forest should be great. Walking hand in hand under the sky with Kai and admiring the stunning view is bliss in itself, though we'll probably just end up making out behind a tree or on a snow bank.

When we get back, Kai will undoubtedly want to work and I will indulge him by letting him do that in peace for at least two hours while Drigger and I amuse ourselves in the gym. I have been neglectful of my tiger lately and he deserves the special attention and exercise.

While one might think that being with Kai means automatically gaining a training partner, nothing could be further from the truth. The guy is a fiend when it comes to training and while I see the benefit in his madness… I refuse to subject myself to it all over again. Man, two years of his regime was more than enough. Drigger and I take it nice and slow, which suits us both fine. Make no mistake, I normally keep in tip top shape and hone my skills constantly, I just stop short of bodily harm when I do it.

Kai and Dranzer on the other hand, take 'feel the burn' to new extremes. When Kai starts training, he gets lost down there for hours and comes back looking like the entire BBA ganged up on him. He loses more scarves that way, but he always looks happy after a good three hour bout. At first I suspected that Kai was a closet masochist, but as he has yet to ask me to tie him up and whip him, I doubt it.

My man just likes to play rough.

After I finish practicing, I will go in search of Kai and amuse myself by distracting him to no end. Lunch will then be a sunny affair on the balcony, provided the wind is not too cold. Once food is out of the way, we may take a nap together on the sofa or just hang out. And even when we run out of things to talk about (a rare event with me but Kai cannot tolerate small talk) we can always enjoy each others company in comfortable silence. Or make out.

More often than not, we opt for the making out. This is not because our relationship is based solely on sex, but because we both have insatiable addictions for each others lips.

Stifling a yawn, I fumble on the bedside table for my day planner. It's actually become more like the 'Chronicles of a Hickey' but I still use it to plan my daily meanderings. I flip to the latest entry and frown. How odd.

What on earth could 'Day of Reckoning' be referring to?

I sit in puzzled silence for a minute until horrified realization hits me like a charging fangirl.

Oh. My. God.

Today is D-Day. Today is Judgement Day.

Spencer. Ian. Tala. Bryan. Here.

**Today**.

"KAI!"

I shout for him in the hope that he will comfort me and tell me that this is all some terrible dream, that the Blitzkrieg Boys have been relocated to a remote island in the furthest ocean and will never be heard from again.

No such luck. Kai does not reply and their arrival is still imminent.

I grab the Dranzer plushie for comfort and begin to choke the stuffing out of it. Luckily for it, I am a sucker for cuteness and the sad eyes prevent me from committing plushie homicide. I drop it back on his pillow, resisting the urge to pound that as well.

Damn it, where is Kai when Ineed an outlet for my frustration?

Five minutes pass and the tension is mounting. I am now considering committing double plushie homicide because the Drigger is giving me a smug look. I swear it is laughing at my approaching doom and so is the Dranzer. Go ahead, call me crazy. You will be the ones being hauled off in straightjackets once the boy demon and his cronies depart from the mansion that will undoubtedly be a smouldering ruin by then.

Yeah, then it will be _me_ laughing my head off.

With a sigh, I realize that I will eventually have to get out of bed and face them. Hell, it might as well now and since Kai is not here for me to snuggle up against, staying in bed loses most of its appeal. Literally falling out of bed, I slouch to the bathroom, dragging a hand through the tangled mess that covers my skull. Once there, I examine my nose.

Yes. My life is officially over.

I might as well hang myself while I still have the chance.

I try to glare my nose into submission, in the hope that it will disappear and leave me looking vaguely normal. But glaring at it will certainly not make it disappear. If it did, I would have glared Bryan into oblivion the moment we met. Looking back to my reflection, I shiver.

Last night you may remember Kai saying that it resembled a squashed tomato. Now it looks more like a squashed plum. If Tyson were here, he would be marvelling at the motley of purple and yellow on my skin by pointing it out to everybody within a five mile radius of the dojo. If Max were here, he would offer me some candy to help me feel better, while giving me that trademark puppy-dog smile. Hilary would coo her sympathy and everyone else would do everything in their power to cheer me up.

If Bryan were here (and he will be soon) he would be pissing himself laughing.

Oh joy.

I stare at my nose again. Maybe a plaster will help. Or maybe my life is over. Who the hell knows?

But after coming off looking like a mummy more than anything else, I give up with the plasters and focus my attention on my hair instead. Normally I plait it very carefully before going to bed and this prevents me from struggling with what Kai playfully dubs 'Medusa' hair. However, last night was a disaster and thus I completely forgot about my hair in the face of humiliation and agony.

Gripping the handle of my brush, I grit my teeth. One hundred strokes of pain are all that stand between me and beauty once again.

Progress is slow and by the time my hair is hanging in silky waves once more, my stomach is growling impatiently. Giving my nose a final 'death glare', courtesy of observing Kai and his random encounters with Tyson, I make my way to the closet we share to pick out my outfit for the fateful day stretching ahead of me.

My usual black pants coupled with a dark blue mandarin shirt should do the trick and are presentable enough for me to welcome (unwanted) guests to the mansion. It's especially important that I look good today because Tala, the embodiment of elegance, will rip me to shreds if I turn up in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

Tying my hair back in its customary ponytail, I straighten my headband and try to smile at my reflection but it makes my nose ache.

I head downstairs to the kitchen, making sure to stomp extra hard on every stair so that Kai can hear me coming and be warned what kind of mood his boyfriend is in. He better have an apology ready. Or better yet, tell me that Bryan has eloped to the Antarctic with Tala.

Yes, that would be good… Bryan can spend the rest of his life beating the crap out of glaciers and terrorizing penguins.

With that thought to amuse me, I can begin planning my revenge on Kai. I push the kitchen door open, fully prepared to unleash a volley of curses or the threat of 'You are so not getting any for three days, mister!' on him.

Instead, I find myself being enfolded by something large and warm, unable to even see Kai.

"You poor boy!"

Allow me to introduce you to Yulya.

Cook extraordinaire and a freaking legend in the Hiwatari household, I swear there is nothing she cannot make. And once you taste her cooking, there is no going back. It _is_ that good. So good you would swear eternal loyalty to her and declare yourself a slave.

As well as being the cook, Yulya also supervises the household and ensures that everything runs smoothly. Her husband Nikolai is in charge of the estate as a whole and his main concern is security. The hi-tech systems that cover every inch of the house, the armed guards patrolling the forests night and day… the mansion becomes a luxury maximum security prison, basically.

You see, being that Voltaire is stinking rich and a ruthless bastard, he is also paranoid to the bone and always convinced that a business rival is trying to murder him or Kai. Yeah, he is concerned about Kai's safety but for the wrong reasons. If his only grandson dies, he has no heir and his precious bloodline is ruined. So he sticks Kai on the family estate in the middle of nowhere for his 'protection'. But Kai, being rebellious and stubborn by nature, comes and goes as he pleases anyway, even though he is bound by law to come back.

But back to Yulya: seeing as she has watched Kai grow from an adorable baby into a full blown sex god, she regards him as being one of her 'children'. I find this really sweet, especially when she gives him a hug. Kai does not normally like to be touched and anyone who breaks that rule without permission is dead meat. Even someone as cute as Max would not dare. But he gets this curious little look on his face when he gets a hug from Yulya, the kind of look I see on the faces of kids getting a hug from their mothers.

She holds this view with the others too, even Bryan. Yes, she even hugs _Bryan_. I do not find this cute however, I find it downright disturbing. I fear for her life every time she does it because for anyone else save Tala, it would be suicide. But they all adore her, including me, her latest adopted child.

"Kai told me what happened," she continued worriedly, examining my nose critically. "Oh, you poor thing. How it must hurt!"

I glance at Kai over her shoulder. "He did, huh?"

He smirks and shrugs innocently when Yulya turns to look at him.

"Now Ray," she says, holding my shoulders and slipping into mother hen lecture mode, "I understand that you have a sweet tooth, but really, eating chocolate mousse in bed? Not to mention messing on the floor and then slipping on it! You must be more careful next time!"

I look questioningly at Kai, who smiles and takes a casual sip of his juice. "I left out the finer details."

Really, how can I not forgive him?

I roll my eyes before mouthing a quick 'I love you'. He mouths an 'I know' back. Resisting the urge to run over and smother him with kisses, I turn back to Yulya and pat her reassuringly on the shoulder.

"Yulya, I'm fine. It hardly hurts at all, honest."

Not believing me at all, she clucks her tongue and motions me to sit down opposite Kai, shaking her head but passing me a fresh ice pack all the same. I must admit it does feel good this early in the morning. I press it to my face, giving a little sigh.

"How does it feel?"

I glare menacingly at him. Just because I have forgiven him, does not mean he is off the hook. He owes me big time. "Fine," I answer sourly, reaching for a glass of orange juice.

Kai swallows the last of his juice, trying not to choke on a laugh and is just about to dig into his pancakes when the peaceful silence is broken by the screech of his phone. He drops his fork reluctantly and begins digging in his pocket for the ever present nuisance. As he brings it out, I give it a malevolent glare.

That piece of junk has interrupted us more times than I can to count and I have been tempted to smash it to bits on all of those occasions. Or change the ring tone to something like _Sexy Back_ so that Kai will do it for me. Okay, so I don't know how to change it, but I'm working on it.

You try growing up in a remote mountain village in the middle of nowhere land where a _radio_ signal is considered a gift from the gods and then taunt me about my woeful knowledge of cell phone technology. Kai actually finds this lack of knowledge on my part 'charming' and it doesn't help matters when he constantly upgrades every other week before I manage to figure out the functions on the last model.

Tch, he always manages to foil my schemes _before_ I do anything.

I glare moodily at him as I stab a fresh strawberry and chew ferociously on it. Judging by the pained expression on his face, I can guess who is on the phone.

"Tala, where the hell are you?"

I smirk into my pancakes and try unsuccessfully to hide my glee.

Kai looks concerned as he listens. "So let Spencer drive, you know how Bryan is- what do you mean you have bad news about my Ferrari?" he snaps, his face suddenly going pale.

Uh-oh.

"How did Bryan manage to get hold of the keys in the first place? They are kept in a steel vault under twenty four hour video surveillance and I even had laser beams installed to keep him out- what? He said it was an obvious _challenge_?"

I wisely keep quiet at this point and wipe the smirk off my face.

"What do you mean you only took your eyes off him for a minute? And you were supposed to keep him _away_ from my car, not sit in the passenger seat!"

Now I can hear shouting coming from the phone. I look down, concentrating on my food. Gosh, I never knew strawberry pancakes could be this interesting.

"No Tala, I do not think that I can order you around like I own you- then Bryan did WHAT?" he shoots up from his chair, clutching the table for support.

More shouting. Kai pales even more with each word. Yulya just shakes her head and continues preparing food for the four bottomless pits that will soon be swarming all over the kitchen. I continue to eat calmly, keeping my delight under wraps.

"I cannot believe that you still went along with him after that, after I expressly forbade him from even looking at it." There is a slight pause. "But you only did it because he kissed you _where_-?"

At the hurried explanation from the other side, Kai turns green. I would too if Tala was detailing his sexual exploits with Bryan to me.

All of a sudden Kai slumps down into his chair. "Fine, take the jeep if you need to. But so help me God, if you get here with Bryan behind the wheel, I swear I- Tala, listen to me. Bryan can do as much damage in the jeep as he can in the BMW. I don't care if the jeep doesn't look as good, I am not going to let him wreck another of my cars and that is _final_."

He slams the phone down on the table and looks so dramatic that I have to restrain myself from applauding.

"This is shaping up to be one super day, huh?" I say brightly, watching as he puts his head in his hands.

The muffled 'shut up' is music to my ears.

Yulya places a cup of strong coffee in front of him, patting his shoulder sympathetically. Technically, this is what I should be doing but Kai deserves it for the stunt he pulled last night. Besides, he can afford to repair the car ten times over.

I do feel a little sorry at the news of the Ferraris probable demise though. My hair looks great streaming in the wind behind me and I enjoy the envious squeals from the fangirls when they see Kai behind the wheel with his arm around me.

"What happened?"

He gulps down a mouthful of the bitter black liquid and grimaces. "Bryan decided to take my Ferrari for a spin last night and Tala decided they needed to hit a few clubs before bringing it back."

"Ah." I nod but then frown. "But then how-?"

"Some idiot tried to hit on Tala right after Bryan warned him to get lost."

"Well, that happens all the time. Did Bryan floor him like he usually does?"

"No, the guy had the sense to run before that."

"How does that explain what happened to the car?"

"Bryan chased after him. _In_ my car."

We both wince.

"How bad is it?" I ask tentatively.

"Bad enough that I actually heard Bryan apologizing for it in the background."

Ouch. It must be _really_ bad.

Poor Kai. The Ferrari is his baby, not to mention his pride and joy. While he usually does not place much value in material possessions, he reverts to the old 'boys and their toys' mentality when it comes to that particular car. But it teaches him a lesson when it comes to keeping his cars in close proximity to Bryan. Unfortunately, the specialized garage his grandfather 'kindly' (and I use this term _very_ lightly) built for him is located in Moscow next to the Hiwatari townhouse, where Voltaire has forbidden him to live. Kai could build one of his own here on the estate but the old goat will never let him get his hands on that much money.

He also made the really stupid mistake of allowing his friends unlimited access to the garage. I am willing to bet anything that the second Bryan walks through that door, Kai is going to rip that access card into tiny shreds.

"I suppose boys will be boys," Yulya murmurs, shaking her head ruefully.

No, Bryan will be Bryan. _Big_ difference.

I look back at Kai. "Did he take it back to the garage?"

"What was left of it."

I smile sympathetically at the morose expression on his face and tap his foot with my own under the table. "Hey, at least no-one got hurt. From what I could hear over the phone, Tala and Bryan are fine."

"Of course they are," he answers exasperatedly. "But my car and the other guy are _not_."

Uh-oh. I sense another legal battle looming for Kai. "What exactly did Bryan do? Run the guy over?"

"Not quite. Apparently the idiot tried to run for his own car and got hit by someone else."

My eyes widen. "How bad?"

He shrugs. "A broken arm and leg. He threatened to sue Bryan for malicious intent and attempted murder among other things. Bryan told him that he would rip his balls off with his bare hands, douse them with gasoline, set them alight and shove them down his throat if he did sue. Tala said that he dropped all charges immediately."

Typical. Of course the guy believed him, Bryan chased after him in a Ferrari for daring to hit on his boyfriend. To incur the wrath of an obvious maniac like that you would have to be deaf, blind and dumb. I would have dropped the charges to protect my manhood from him too.

"But if the guy got hit by someone else, how did Bryan wreck your car?"

Kai sighs. "He turned around to watch and crashed into a parked car."

God may have just answered my prayers.

I hold back a snort of laughter. "You have got to be kidding. No really, did Bryan crash into a _parked_ car?"

He nods. "He also mentioned that he would tear you apart if you dared mention it at all to anyone."

I flinch. "He did?"

"I censored most of what he actually said, but by the look on your face I think you get the general idea."

Why did he have to ruin the only possibly good thing to happen today? _Why_?

Yulya, seeing that Kai has lost his appetite, begins clearing away dishes. I turn my attention back to my food, noting that it does taste a little sweeter even with the threat of severe bodily harm hanging over me.

Kai flips his phone open again, no doubt putting in a call to check on his baby. He mutters angrily to himself in Russian, no doubt cursing God for plaguing him with Bryan Kuznetsov. A short while later, the phone call is over and the expression on his face is positively murderous. Obviously the diagnosis is not good.

Saying 'I told you so' at this point would be a bad idea, huh?

"Kai…" I begin meaningfully; sneaking a sideways glance to make sure Yulya is out of earshot. "We still have a bit of free time before they get here, right?"

"Ray, if this is about..." he begins warningly but I cut him off with an angelic smile.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a massage to help get rid of your new found tension."

We both look to Yulya who is preoccupied with the pile of food needed to satisfy the Blitzkrieg Boys.

He looks at me again, eyes suspicious but keen. "No hickeys," he says firmly.

"Then that goes for you too. I don't want to be sporting anything new in front of _them_."

He considers the offer in silence, staring at me thoughtfully.

At any rate, Kai will cave in, he always does. Kai adores massages. His favourite way to unwind after a long day is with my hands and some scented oil. But even though it will be the perfect opportunity, I meant what I said about no hickeys. Kai has just suffered a terrible shock and I can collect on the debt owed to me later. Now he just needs some good old fashioned loving.

"…"

Why is he still thinking about this?

"Kai."

I slide my bare foot up his pants leg and smile.

**-------------------------------------------------**

"Did you have to make it so dark?"

Kai turns away from the window and smirks. "I would have stopped," he points out innocently, "but you moaned at me not to. Begged me, actually."

I scowl, examining the darkening bruise just below the curve of my jaw in the mirror. "I hate you."

He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. "Really. If you hate me so much Ray, you could just leave," he teases softly, placing a delicate kiss on my collarbone.

I squirm as Kai plants a burning trail of moist kisses across my shoulders, running his hands lightly up my arms and making me shiver. "Not fair," I protest weakly, my brain slowly liquefying inside my skull. "I need… to give you a hickey… K-Kai…"

"Hn," he answers distractedly, lifting my hair to kiss the sensitive nape of my neck. At the same time, his hands flit around caress my stomach, making me melt with his warm touch. I lean into him, bringing my arms up to tangle my fingers in his air, to bring him closer to me. He responds eagerly, pressing his lips more fiercely to my skin. All I can do is moan and whisper broken encouragement as pure pleasure overtakes us both for the second time that morning.

I gasp as his lips take the tip of my ear between his teeth and those strong hands slide over my hips to rest on my thighs. All my blood is running south and Kai knows it, I can feel his lips curving into a knowing smile against me.

Effortlessly, he lifts me up to carry me over to the bed. By this point, I am incapable of doing a damn thing except wish that he would hurry up and take off my pants. I land on the rumpled sheets with a soft thump and find myself staring up into those mesmerizing red eyes, which are glowing like embers. Kai is on his hands and knees above me, a lock of blue hair tickling my nose.

His hair is tousled in that sexy manner I love and beads of sweat still cling to his bare chest from the 'massage'. My god, could he possibly be any sexier?

"Ray…" he murmurs huskily, caressing my lips tenderly with his own.

The throaty voice sends me into an electric haze and he seems to have just answered my question. All I can think of are his lips, his hands… my entire world right now is in this bedroom, here with Kai. The house could be burning down, the world could be ending for all I care, as long as Kai keeps on kissing me.

The only thing in the world that could possibly make this better is… is…

"Master Kai? Your guests have arrived."

The intercom beeps the words I have been dreading to hear since last night and poof! Just like that, the haze is gone. I bolt upright, pushing Kai off me. "_Already_?"

He nods, climbing off the bed to retrieve his shirt. Pulling it over his ruffled head, he pauses to look at the doomed expression on my face. "Ray. Relax. They are not going to make it their mission to torment you."

The accusing expression on my face should tell him what I think of that statement.

He sighs. "Fine. If you want to stay here, then stay. You can come down later."

And let Kai welcome them on his own? Be accused of cowardice? If I am not there when they arrive, Bryan will seek me out for a 'special' hello when Kai is occupied by the others. No, I need to stick close to Kai during the next few days. Where he goes, I go.

Biting my lip, I run a hand through my tangled hair. "Just give a minute to straighten up."

He smiles at me and leans against the door to wait as I slide off the bed. I return the smile weakly and brush my hair with quick strokes, eyeing myself in the mirror. Great. The new hickey on my neck is practically glowing and no shirt I own would be able to hide it. It screams 'notice and taunt me until I go nuts'.

"Kai?"

"Hn?"

"I need to borrow a scarf."

**------------------------------------------------**

This is it.

The moment I have been dreading.

Standing next to Kai outside the mansion, I clutch his hand tightly as I stare at the jeep parked close by. To put it more correctly, I stare in horrified anticipation at the four occupants now climbing out.

Spencer climbs out first from the drivers seat, looking eagerly around him in anticipation of letting Seaborg rip up the snowy woods. Wide open spaces are a novelty in the city and he always takes full advantage of the opportunity to let loose. Ian, headphones jammed into his ears, swings down from the passenger seat next, a sour expression on his face. He grabs his bag silently, glaring at the two still in the backseat before stomping towards us.

Tala climbs out of the backseat first, impeccably dressed as always. His outfit is casual, but makes him look drool-worthy all the same. A black long-sleeved sweater clings to every inch of his slim frame and indigo jeans perform the same function for his hips and legs. Completing the look are black boots with silver buckles that match the belt draped around his waist. His fiery red hair is caught back in a ponytail, with two strands left loose to frame his delicate features.

He looks around him with one hand poised on his hip, raising the sunglasses perched on his nose with a flick of his wrist and says something to the figure still in the car.

A familiar twisted laugh rings out and I twitch nervously next to Kai.

"Kai!" a deep voice booms across the driveway and Kai drags me forward to greet Spencer and Ian.

My stomach lurches, all my attention still focused on the car. Somehow my brain refuses to accept that Bryan really is here. The greetings between Kai and his two team-mates pass in a blur for me and I hardly notice when Ian takes one look at me and snickers. Spencer, being a bit dense, does not notice my affliction at first. Instead he launches into his plans for a new training program to get Ian back into blading.

"Kai, I hope you had the gym fitted out with that new equipment I called you… about…" his voice trails off as he finally notices me. He stares for two long minutes with a kind of horrified fascination on his face.

Me, I might as well be in limbo. I can only stare at the damn car and the familiar lavender head still in it. Kai looks at my dismayed frozen state and sighs.

"Long story," he says resignedly to Spencer and Ian. Ian snorts and turns up the volume of some god-awful rock, slouching inside in the direction of the kitchen. Spencer gives me a doubtful look and shrugs, following Ian in search of sustenance.

"Uh… good to see you, Kon."

I return his greeting with a vague mumble, my eyes fixed on the approaching redhead. I eye him nervously and he stops in front of me, adjusting the duffel bag on his shoulder. His ice blue eyes run up and down my body in silent scrutiny and settle on the scarf. He raises a brow and I am painfully reminded that the scarf does not match the mandarin shirt.

I offer the only feeble defence I can. "It _is_ cold, Tala."

"Of course it is," he replies smoothly, a smirk quirking his lips as he catches a glimpse of the shadow beneath my jaw. "You must have had quite the… interesting morning, Ray."

"Yeah… interesting." I laugh weakly, my legs trembling at the sight of Bryan emerging from the jeep.

The Falborg blader is dressed to kill. The black leather jacket is probably made from something he hunted down himself and those steel-toed boots look like they could castrate a man with one kick. Frankly, he looks illegal. Even I have to admit he looks good. The guy may put the fear of God into me, but he looks hot enough to melt the polar ice-caps.

Tala notes my terror with a cool air, turning away from my predicament to greet Kai.

Bryan raises his head and fixes his gaze on me. I shrink visibly and fight the urge to run and hide behind Kai. His lips stretch into a predatory leer and he stoops to look back in the car, speaking to someone still inside.

Wait, Kai never said anything about them bringing someone else with them. I wonder who the hell it could be, especially since Bryan has an uncharacteristically nice expression on his face. Maybe Kai asked them- oh my god, what is THAT?

Bryan is being followed by a mountain of sleek fur and _teeth_. A huge animal easily _half_ my size is trotting docilely at his side.

Straight towards me.

I abandon all pretence and run to Kai. I am scared to death of dogs. They hate me and I hate them. Normally I can scare them off with a hiss but this one is obviously on the side of the boy demon and will rip me to shreds in a heartbeat.

I knew he was going to get me, I just _knew_ it!

"Kai!"

He looks up in surprise as I cower behind him and Tala smirks. My boyfriend gives the redhead an exasperated glare and takes me by the arm. "Ray, what is it now?"

Arm quivering, I point to the approaching monstrosity and his eyes widen, instantly flicking to Tala for an explanation.

"My puppy, Wolborg," he offers nonchalantly, as if he were introducing us to his pet hamster.

"That thing is not a _puppy_!" I manage to shriek.

"Of course he is still a puppy. Wolborg is only six months old."

"Six _months_?"

The redhead nods gracefully. "Yes, Bryan is rather proud of him."

Of course he would be. By now he has probably trained the dog to _eat_ me on command.

"Kai, do something!"

He looks pointedly to Tala, who shrugs. "Wolborg is harmless."

"Harmless? Does that thing look _harmless_ to you?"

On the verge of throwing a fit, I wheel around to point out the obvious intention to kill the neko-jin and end up pointing my finger directly in Bryan's face. I swallow a startled 'eep' but hold my ground. I have nowhere to run anyway.

Bryan examines me from head to toe, a smirk twisting his lips. "What the fuck happened to your face, Kon?"

For the first time in my life, I ignore Bryan and my gaze flits down to the beast sitting at his feet.

Wolborg stares back at me with malevolent yellow eyes, saliva dripping from his bared fangs onto the snow.

"Grrrr…."

"I'd advise against any sudden movements," Tala warns. "Being cooped up in a car tends to set him on edge."

Bryan sneers at me and pats the big head affectionately. "Dickenson learned that the hard way," he says indifferently.

"You let it attack _Mr. Dickenson_?"

"I told him that Wolborg does not respond well to strangers, particularly foreigners, but he insisted on feeding him a 'doggy' biscuit," the redhead explains in an amused voice. "A pity, but Wolborg does tend to strike rather quickly. We think that comes from his wolf blood. Last I heard, Dickenson should be out of hospital within the next few days- his blood transfusion went well."

The blood drains from my face. Dead. I am so _dead_.

Kai does not give the dog a second glance but simply reaches down and pats him firmly on the head. Wolborg examines him for a moment then gives an approving woof and licks his hand, holding up a paw for him to shake. I take a hesitant step forward. I really do _not_ want to do this. If I tell Kai that, he will put a stop to this and I can leave. I can tell by the concerned look in his eyes but I shake my head decisively at him. Proving myself not a coward is far more important than my fear of Wolborg. Besides, what could the dog possibly do in front of three - no, make that two - people who would protect me?

"Careful, kitty. Wolborg can smell fear from a mile away."

I glare at Bryan but look at the dog, who is now sniffing the air suspiciously.

It does not help matters that I imagine his wolf brain is thinking along the lines of "I smell fresh meat" and as if to prove my point, he licks his chops, yellow eyes fixed on me. A low, threatening rumble escapes his throat and he bares his big teeth as if to say "snack time".

Bryan has a delighted expression on his face, the one he has when anticipating carnage and bloodshed. I swallow, reaching out slowly to Wolborg, who is watching my hand like he would a thick and juicy steak. He has the same overjoyed expression of his master as my hand draws closer.

And here I though_ Bryan_ was going to be the only problem.

"Uh… g-good doggy…"

"GRRRR."

It will be a miracle if I make it out of this visit alive.

**TBC**


	5. When t rains, it pours

**Desecration Smile**

**A/N**: So sorry for the delay, but between exams and writers block, I was just a little bit distracted.

Anyway, a big thank you goes out to everyone who has reviewed: **freya kurenai**, **Reis1gurl**, **Nemo Sushi**, **Angel Storm22**, **hoshicat**, **DemonicStormFox**, **KasumiCho**, **Sugar-Hype-Queen**, **purplelover**, **Neena14**, **evildictionaryninja**, **allie**, **XxfallenxfakexX** and **Kelirehenna**.

* * *

"This is it, Kai."

"…"

"I am going to _prove_ to you that this dog has it in for me."

Wolborg has just been fed and exercised, so he should be sleepy and passive. Which means I should be safe and I will probably never get a better chance than right now. I mean, he has a full stomach from devouring three steaks, with no real need to eat me… and Kai is here to restrain him. Besides, he does look rather relaxed, curled up there on the carpet.

Then I remind myself that Bryan has probably anticipated this scenario and trained his demonic hound to fake sleeping.

"… What are you waiting for?"

You know, if I could move my feet, this whole thing would be much easier.

Right. Take deep breaths, Ray, deep breaths. Brace yourself, move one foot forward at a time… remember your baby steps… just one little step with your right foot first…

Oh god, its harder than I thought.

But here goes nothing… I remind myself at the last minute that squeezing my eyes shut is probably not a good idea and reach out to give Wolborg a 'friendly' pat on the head.

"GRRR."

Snatching my hand back just in time, I spin around to face Kai with a scowl. "See that? What did I tell you?"

Kai gives me sceptical look, which makes it the fiftieth one directed at me in the space of two hours and then looks at Wolborg, who never moved an inch except to yawn. "Ray, Wolborg is just their pet… he does not want to _eat_ you."

A pet?

Excuse me, did he just call Wolborg a pet?

As in _their_ pet? The pet of the psychos who would laugh if I was 'accidentally' mauled?

Trained killer is more like it. Bryan _obviously_ taught him to act like that in order to lure me into a false sense of security before he strikes. And to make things worse, Kai believes him to be a perfectly normal dog. Ever see that Stephen King movie with the mad dog, Kujo? _That_ is Wolborg, who is everything _but_ normal. All he needs now is a foaming mouth and I will run for the hills, screaming my head off.

Heck, I would be doing that if Kai were not standing between me and certain death.

"What proof do you need before you believe me? My bloody corpse in his jaws maybe, or I should let him chew my arm in front of you. Will that be enough?"

"Throw in a leg and I might consider it."

"Kai Hiwatari, you are an insensitive, heartless, callous jerk and I-"

"-Still love me with all your heart and soul."

I open my mouth and shut it again, glaring at him. "Not for much longer," I threaten menacingly. "Not until you acknowledge that thing has it in for me!"

"Ray, Wolborg is a domesticated animal. If he tries to bite you, its because he senses hostility and reacts to it, not because he wants to eat you. You heard Tala; he has a thing about strangers. It just might take a while for him to get used to you."

"You are as much of a stranger as I am, Kai, but I don't see Wolborg trying to chew _your_ arm off!"

He looks down at the wolf, now sitting docilely at his feet. Wolborg looks up at him with a toothy grin and whines softly, nudging his hand for attention. Kai complies, rubbing the big head affectionately.

Now I am pissed off. Besides the fact that Kai is stubbornly refusing to believe that the dog has it in for me, he actually _likes_ Wolborg. My boyfriend, who is supposed to be on my side, should be kicking Wolborg out, not defending him. Yeah, another reason for me to hate Wolborg: in less than twenty-four hours that thing has managed to win his affections. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to do that?

Dammit, it took _me_ two years!

I glower at the offending animal, feeling the beginnings of a sulky pout. Because of that stunt, Wolborg is walking a very thin line and so is my sanity.

Kai continues patting the perky ears, much to my annoyance. "So maybe you have a slight point -"

"Stop that."

He looks amused. "Stop what? Stop trying to see this from your point of view?"

"You know what. Stop patting that damn dog!"

"You want me to stop patting the dog," he repeats slowly. "So now you're jealous as well as paranoid."

My jaw hits the floor. "I am not jealous of Wolborg. And I have a damn good reason for being paranoid, Kai! You might have forgotten this already, but Bryan is right here in this house and this monster belongs to _him_!"

"Technically he belongs to Tala," Kai points out (un) helpfully. "Not Bryan."

And Bryan treats everything that belongs to Tala as his. With the exception of underwear, Bryan applies this twisted logic to everything, including the redhead himself (not to his face though, Tala would definitely not appreciate being 'owned' by someone he can easily glare into submission). Seriously, he really does think this way. If they ever had to break up, Bryan would have nothing to his name, except for his underwear and the clothes Tala would never be seen dead in.

So according to Bryan, Wolborg belongs to him. Which is really bad news for me, since Tala would have no interest in seeing a neko-jin being mauled by a wolf and Bryan would consider it better entertainment than people walking into doors.

"Okay, so maybe he might not really want to eat me, but I bet Bryan trained him to want to! And get your hands off that dog!"

Kai rolls his eyes, removing his hand from the soft fur. Instantly, the dog raises his head to glare at me and growls threateningly. Somehow it knows that the removal of physical affection is my fault.

Great.

"You do realize that you are way past the point of being rational and level-headed, right?"

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Are too."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… Ok, I know that was _really_ lame… so sue me already…"

"Maybe I should. What do you think, Ray, could I use that extra little bit of cash you have stashed under your side of the bed?"

"How did you-?"

Too late. He's already approaching me with _that_ smile on his face. Uh-oh.

I take a step back. No way am I going to let him persuade me into letting this go, no way is he going to take advantage of me again… aw, but his skin is so soft and warm… and his lips are so yummy… you know, I really need to start exerting my authority in this relationship. At least before he persuades me to kiss and make up with Wolborg.

He probably could make me do that if he puts enough effort into it.

"Kai. No. I mean it!"

He nuzzles my neck, giving me a playful little nibble here and there. As much as I want to give in, I resist the to start purring and refuse to respond. I just stand there with my arms folded and toes curling, not letting a whimper or moan get past my lips. If I can keep this up, maybe Kai will finally realize that I am very serious about the Wolborg issue.

"Mmm… Kai… a little more to the left…"

Or maybe not. Did I mention I have some serious lack of authority issues?

"Until I work something out with Tala and Bryan, Wolborg can stay outside," he says finally, detaching his lips from me, in order to breathe and give me some much-deserved peace of mind.

Score one for the neko-jin and zero for Wolborg!

I savour my triumph by sticking my tongue out at Wolborg (childish I know, but immensely satisfying for the moment – if I make a more threatening gesture, I may just have to run for it) for maybe a second until what Kai said actually sinks in. "Outside? In the snow? In the cold?"

"First you worry about being attacked, now you worry about the dog freezing. What do you want me to do with him, Ray? Keep him in chains until they leave?"

As much as the idea appeals to me and as much as I dislike dogs, especially Wolborg, I would never put him in chains. Look, let me make one thing clear: I am not worried about Wolborg freezing outside. Even if he is domesticated, he is part wolf; it is completely natural for him to like snow. He seemed to enjoy bounding around in it yesterday so he should be quite happy living in it for a while.

What I am worried about is what will happen to me when Bryan and Tala find out I had their beloved pet thrown outside. Knowing my luck, Wolborg will be lost in a howling blizzard and then fillet of neko-jin will be on the menu for Bryan.

"Maybe we could keep him in the basement for now," I suggest weakly, avoiding the accusing yellow stare. "The gym lounge is a lot more comfy than a snow bank."

Kai gives me a look. "Only you could be so concerned about an animal that wants to eat you," he mutters resignedly, grabbing Wolborg by the leather collar and dragging him out of the room. I follow, dawdling some ways behind them to avoid the scrabbling claws.

Clearly someone has not forgotten about Snowball.

If you were wondering, which you probably were, 'Snowball' used to be my cat. As in he usedto live here, with me, until Kai decided he had to go.

Well, it was love at first sight on my part. He was a gorgeous white kitten, who stole my heart with one flick of his fluffy tail and one blink of his pretty blue eyes. Unfortunately for us, Snowball had a few issues.

A: he hated Kai and B: he hated me.

Actually, he hated everyone. And he had a tendency to bite – not scratch, _bite_. But I really did love Snowball and I think he loved me too, deep down. Okay, make that very deep down, even when he took a chunk out of me or ripped the velvet drapes to shreds.

Kai, on the other hand, refused to live with him.

Snowball, to add to all his faults, had an unfortunate taste for antique furniture, the more expensive the better. As you can guess, that did not sit very well with my boyfriend. After three months of being bitten and clawed, along with the loss of many family heirlooms, Kai delivered an ultimatum: either I go or the cat goes.

Yeah, I still miss ol' Snowball sometimes.

In front of me, Kai is thumping down the stairs, still muttering darkly in Russian under his breath. Wolborg is whining behind him and trying to dig his claws into the carpet. I almost feel sorry for him until he twists around and starts growling at me again.

I hiss back, giving him the finger along with a delighted smirk. And you know what? It feels good. Not as good as kissing Kai or gloating to Bryan that I kicked his ass when it really counted, but still really good.

Now, only one more thing for me to take care of before I have to worry about the boy demon again.

"Kai?"

"What?"

"It really was unfair of you to call me paranoid," I begin sweetly, "since you had the exact same attitude to Snowball when he left dead spiders on your pillow. If I remember correctly, you insisted that he was showing how he was going to kill you, instead of trying to impress us with his hunting skills."

Kai stops dead and snorts. "That was completely different," he replies flatly. "Your cat was psychotic. He even tried to bite Bryan, remember?"

Oh yeah. I forgot about that one. Kai strained a muscle in his arm from trying to keep Bryan from murdering my cat when Snowball bit him on a very delicate place (his backside, not the other delicate place. If it had been Bryan's crotch, Tala would have killed the cat).

Actually, that incident just showed me that Snowball was stupid, not psychotic.

"He also destroyed the china collection that had been in my family for generations. Not to mention that a servant quit because Snowball mauled him every single day, which cost me a fortune in doctors' bills. And then there was the time he ruined the leather interior of the limo, costing thousands of dollars to repair. Do I need to go on?"

I have to force myself not to nod in agreement, but I cling to the last shred of my rapidly disintegrating argument. "Your friends do the exact same thing," I point out. "Remember the new driver we had a couple of months ago, the young, gorgeous one who hit on Tala? The poor guy was in the hospital for a month and you had to pay the hospital bills as well as the court settlement."

He winces visibly, but chooses to ignore my point and the fact that I used the word 'gorgeous' to describe a guy other than him. "Where are you going with this?"

Glad you asked. "Well, you owe me, Kai. Big time."

"Really."

"Uh-uh," I insist loudly. "I told you last night that Wolborg was going to eat me sooner or later and you never believed me. And I never doubted you for a second about Snowball."

"You told me the cat was leaving the spiders as presents. You told me, even when he was hanging off your arm by his teeth, that Snowball was just _misunderstood_. And Wolborg has not tried to eat you between yesterday and today. How do I owe you anything?"

Damn. He had me there. "That was completely different," I protest lamely. "Snowball really was misunderstood. Wolborg was sent by Bryan with the sole purpose of getting rid of me!"

"And I owe you big time for…?"

"You picked the dog over me!"

Kai looks offended and faintly suspicious. "I never picked Wolborg over you. You came to that conclusion all by yourself. I told you that I was going to do something about him and I am."

"Yeah, well, the point is that… that… first you defended him instead of me – that means you defended Bryan, taking his side over mine. And now you owe me!"

"Was that the whole point of your little argument? Cornering me into a hickey?" he asks incredulously, taking gross advantage of the perception that I hate almost as much as I hate spinach.

Okay, so maybe that was the point, but I won't admit it out loud. Kai has already sided with me by offering to have Wolborg kept outside, so I can forgive him for defending the dog in the first place. I mean, I did sound the teensiest bit irrational back there. Not about Bryan though, he really is out to get me. He makes his intentions very clear by sliding a finger across his throat every time I walk past.

But as long as I have the opportunity for a hickey, who could blame me for trying to take advantage of Kai?

"So can I? We could nip back to our room in five seconds flat and I could-"

"No."

He continues clomping down the stairs with that stupid dog, leaving me to wallow in a pit of disappointment. Even though it had been a pathetic attempt, it still sucked. Why is he so resistant when I can never say no?

You know, I think he gets some kind of perverse pleasure out of torturing me like this.

"Kai?"

"…"

"You still owe me."

"Whatever."

Roughly translating from three years of studying Kai linguistics, I take that to mean 'yes, my darling, tonight I will be yours to do whatever you desire, because I know I was wrong in taking the side of your psychotic friend and I will do anything you want to make up for it, especially the love-bite you wish to adorn me with'.

At this rate though, I'll count myself lucky if I get a good night kiss.

* * *

Remember how I told you what a great guy Tala was? What a nice 'normal' person he was?

I may have exaggerated just a little bit there. The truth is, none of them are normal. Bryan is just more openly psychotic than his boyfriend. Tala proved all that yesterday when he introduced Wolborg to me as his 'puppy'. Honestly, how could anyone in their right mind (beside Bryan) regard that monster as a puppy?

And am I really going to go to him for advice?

Things is, Tala is perfect since he could make Bryan roll over and beg if he wanted – yes, the leash is that tight. The redhead has Bryan wrapped around his little finger and he exploits it outrageously whenever he feels like it, not just when he needs to.

Take yesterday for example: the Ferrari incident came up over lunch and despite a dangerous glare from Kai, plus an angry lecture, Bryan refused to hand over his access card. Now take it from me and months of personal experience: that is a definite no-no whenever Kai is concerned. And with Bryan refusing to budge and Kai looking murderous, the stage was set for World War III.

Until Tala stepped in.

**_Begin flashback_**

"Hand it over, Bryan."

Bryan is looking decidedly more mulish than usual today and ignoring the warning light flickering wildly around his head, he stuffs the card back in his pocket.

Kai narrows his eyes. "Now, Kuznetsov."

The soft dangerous voice he uses when things are about to get nasty prompts Spencer, Ian and I to make ourselves scarce. Forget lunch, I want to make sure I live to see another day.

Spencer mumbles an excuse about getting back to the gym and Ian slouches back to the TV, to which he has been glued like a barnacle since he stepped foot in the mansion, with an unintelligible grunt that could have been "me too".

I hide around the corner because I still want to watch the action and yell encouragement if he needs it, even though screaming "rip him to shreds, Kai!" might not be such a good idea. And there will be action, believe me: Kai never calls Bryan by his surname unless he is really pissed.

Bryan looks bored, but I can see him tense up. "I already told you no once, Hiwatari. Its not my fault your car was a piece of shit that crumpled like a tin can at the slightest bit of pressure!"

My boyfriend looks like a nuclear warhead waiting to detonate. I desperately want to throw in my two cents, but Bryan may try to tear me apart for mentioning that it was completely his fault that the car was a mess.

"That was a Ferrari, not a piece of shit. It was also a gift, now give me that card before I take it!"

If Kai was looking at me like that, I would be running as fast as I could in the opposite direction. But, being Bryan and all, he just scoffs.

"Please. Since when do you actually care about anything that old fart gives you?"

Now Bryan is swimming into dangerous waters. Kai is extremely touchy about the fact that almost everything he has is because of his grandfather and that his favourite car was a gift from the person he resents more than anyone else in existence.

Strangely enough (or not) Bryan is looking quite happy for someone about to be in a momentous amount of pain.

"Give it to me now or I will take it back!"

"Forget it, Hiwatari. You have cars, I need something to drive." Bryan snaps back, his glittering eyes daring Kai to lay one finger on him and then he bares his teeth, cementing the challenge.

Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists, Kai gives Tala the either-you-do-something-or-I-will look.

Up until now, the redhead has been preoccupied with his lunch. Dipping a piece of sushi into the shallow dish of soy sauce, he places it delicately into his mouth, handling the chopsticks as if he had been born with them glued onto his hand. He does seem rather calm for someone caught in the eye of the storm. Still chewing, he gives Kai the what-do-you-expect-me-to-do look. But seeing that Kai is about to dive across the table and someone (namely his lover) is going to get his ass kicked, he intervenes.

"Just give it to him, Bry."

"What? No way!"

"You heard me, give it to him." Tala idly picks up another piece of sushi, smoothing out the newspaper with his free hand and continues reading.

Bryan folds his arms across his chest obstinately and glares menacingly at Kai, before glowering at his boyfriend.

"I said no."

"Kuznetsov, give it to me now or else I swear-" Kai begins threateningly but is cut off by Tala, who is looking distinctly offended that Bryan would actually ignore him. But instead of a direct lesson, Tala opts for his subtler and infinitely more effective tactics.

"I feel like having a shower."

The grey eyes light up with interest at the candid announcement and follow the redhead as he rises to glide out of the kitchen. For being such a violent and hateful person, he sure has an odd fascination with water, which is supposed to be a soothing and tranquil substance. Not that I blame him anyway: who in their right mind would pass up a chance to take a shower with Tala? Bryan rises eagerly from the table, all thoughts of fighting with Kai crashing out the window.

Tala pauses in the doorway and stares pointedly at his boyfriend trailing behind him. "But I would rather have it alone."

See, now this is what I need to learn. Nobody, absolutely nobody, can manipulate Bryan the way Tala can – the wolf has even turned it into an art. Just looking at the furious longing on his face, I am willing to bet that Bryan would do anything to be in that shower. Including giving up the access card to Kai without a fight.

Within exactly five seconds, Bryan reaches breaking point.

"Fine!" he finally snarls, flinging the card at Kai and stalking past me to follow Tala, who by then has wandered off to their room with the expression of smug satisfaction that you see on the faces of people who get what they want all the time.

**_End flashback_**

See what I meant about the tight leash?

Yeah, Tala is the master when it comes to manipulating Bryan – mainly because no one else would be stupid enough to try it. But I like to think that their connection is more than just sexual. They really do care about each other, even though they hide it really well. I mean, just looking at them now, I feel like screaming 'aw' and glomping both of them.

Bryan is sprawled on the couch, eyes half closed, with a bowl of potato chips is balanced on his stomach. Tala is lounging beside him, using his arm for a headrest and immersing himself in a magazine. Every now and then, the redhead reaches absentmindedly for a chip and either puts it in his own mouth or feeds it to Bryan. Both of them look very comfortable and very cute, with their legs entwined and their feet touching.

Good thing neither of them noticed Kai dragging Wolborg towards the basement.

I have to wonder, though, how they got together in the first place. I once asked Kai and he avoided the question until I gave up on it (I never gave up on it actually, he just distracted me with kisses until I forgot). Oddly enough, he always looked embarrassed when I asked. Eventually I chalked their get-together up to rampant teenage hormones in the Abbey and decided Kai was probably embarrassed because he found them in some compromising position. Personally, I think its nothing to be embarrassed about. Loads of people, even Grandpa G, have found me and Kai in positions that are definitely not PG-13.

Still, I do really want to know how that union came about. Hey, it can even be my next project after I get my hickey.

By the way, I am not lurking in the passage because I enjoy spying on people. I am lurking for sentry purposes, even though Kai doesn't give a toss whether they catch us or not. But I do, because I want to be far away from here when Kai announces that Wolborg has been confined in the basement.

Dragging my eyes away from the unnaturally sweet and rare scene before me, I wince as I look to the TV, where Ian is sitting and doing a pretty good impression of a zombie. His eyes are fixed on the blood-splattered screen, darting back and forth as various body bits explode everywhere, amidst screams and growls. Naturally, Bryan is also watching and giving advice as how to best mutilate the enemy with knives and explosives, thus getting the most out of the blood effects.

Lovely.

I shudder and sneak off to find Kai, who is locking the door of the basement as I creep up behind him.

"Happy now?"

I give him a hug and a kiss as an answer. Hopefully I can show him a real thank you later tonight if the terrible quartet can occupy themselves for once.

"Absolutely."

He pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist and depositing the key in my back pocket. "Good," he murmurs into my ear before kissing me lovingly. "Cause I would never hear the end of it if I let my kitty stay unhappy."

I would have whacked for calling me that, but he fends me off with another kiss and I melt into a puddle of lusty neko-jin right there. I could stand here forever and be kissed senseless, but I am uncomfortably aware that I am at the scene of the crime and Bryan happens to be nearby.

"Hiwatari, get your ass in here!"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. How many times do I have to hear that saying before I learn to keep my mouth shut?

Both of us exhale and I start gathering my composure but Kai pins me against the wall. "Bryan can wait," he murmurs sexily in my ear before gluing his lips to a neko-jin who is oblivious that anyone named Bryan even exists because his brain has completely shut down. "We need this."

Actually, we made out less than an hour ago in the broom closet (it was the only place where we were sure no-one would find us) but I'm not complaining. Nope, I am definitely not complaining about the little kisses Kai is dotting along my throat. Or the fingertips dancing across my skin and making me shiver.

"KAI!"

Thank you, Bryan, for reminding me of one of the many reasons why I hate, despise and loathe you. Kai pushes away from me reluctantly before I can pull him back and force him to stay.

"I should go see what he wants, it might be important."

Yeah, whatever. We both know it's more likely that he wants to know where Kai hid the vodka. I clamp both arms around his waist and give him my sweetest smile, batting my lashes.

"What could possibly be more important than little old me?"

He returns the smile, lowering his face to mine to capture my mouth. "Guess you have a point, huh?"

"Mmm," I purr in delight, my eyes drifting shut as heaven returns to wrap me in fluffy clouds.

"God, the two of you are worse than rabbits."

We break apart and I turn my head to see Tala, leaning against the wall with his arms folded, smirking at us.

"Do you mind?" I snap pointedly, tightening my grip on Kai to make sure he stays put.

Ignoring the obvious hint to get lost, his icy blue gaze flicks to Kai. "Congratulations."

"Huh?"

I stare questioningly at Kai, who shrugs.

"Congratulations for what, Tala?"

"You've just been voted the most eligible bachelor in Russia. Your grandfather announced it on national TV."

"He did WHAT?"

We both pale and I am shocked out of my socks. Literally. My feet, never mind my whole body, go numb. But Kai looks worse off than me. His mouth is opening and closing, his eyes bulging out of his head.

"That must be some kind of mistake," he says faintly. "Why would he do that?"

Tala smiles serenely. "If you would like to see the broadcast, you better hurry. And by the way-" he casually throws a magazine at Kai, who looks aghast at seeing his gorgeous face splashed all over the cover of Moscow Teen.

"What the - I never posed for this!"

My eyes widen as I peek over his shoulder. A gorgeous hunk of man flesh, otherwise known as Kai Hiwatari, is sprawled seductively over a sleek black Harley, sans shirt and decency. My mouth falls open.

"Kai!"

"What? Ray, this is not me! I would never pose for some teen magazine!"

"But… but…" I point to the picture. Actually, stab would be more accurate. "How did they get such a sexy picture? Cause that is most definitely you!"

"This is the twenty first century, idiot, they used Photoshop. But I suppose they don't have things such as modern technology where you come from, Kon."

Trust Tala to say whatever he can to diffuse the situation.

It's a good thing I'm too worried about Kai to give him a piece of my mind for insulting my village, because by now Kai's shock has worn off and given way to blind fury. The magazine crumples in his fist before falling to the floor and without another word, Kai storms towards the lounge, hell bent on getting to the bottom of this. I pick up the magazine furtively, tucking it under my t-shirt before following.

What? I want the full-length poster for our bedroom wall.

But even that little treasure does nothing to calm my anxiety. Either Voltaire has finally gone nuts (well, more nuts anyway) or this is another scheme to 'cure' Kai of his preference for men.

In other words, my life has suddenly gotten ten million times worse.

My throat closing up in sudden panic, I rush to the lounge and stop dead in the doorway.

"… _And in a highly controversial move, Voltaire Hiwatari, CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises, announced today his purchase of several prominent magazine licences, including global publications such as Cosmopolitan and the popular Russian youth magazine, Moscow Teen…" _

Kai is staring in horrified realization at the TV while Bryan and Ian are sniggering, clearly enjoying his imminent crisis.

"… _In an even more surprising twist, he has also announced that the 2006 Miss Universe pageant will be held in Moscow, courtesy of Hiwatari Enterprises and will be hosted by none other than Kai Hiwatari, star blader and, as voted by Teen Moscow, Russia's most eligible bachelor and International Heartthrob of the year…" _

"WHAT? NO!"

The screen abruptly disappears as a spray of soda splatters across Voltaire's smug face and Bryan chokes on his drink as he tries to swallow and laugh at the same time. The next second, both he and Ian are rolling around on the floor, laughing so hard I would have sworn they pissed themselves if I hadn't seen Bryan spit soda at the TV.

I wish I could be as amused as they were. Instead I feel like punching someone in the face.

This is a complete disaster. Of all the bloody times Voltaire had to pick to stir shit, why _now_? Not only has that old bastard made Kai the target of millions of young, single women, he also plans on surrounding him with hundreds of the worlds most beautiful and stunning models.

And I wonder if, by some miracle, Bryan would object to having Wolborg eat tough and ugly old men instead of neko-jins.

**TBC**

**A/N**: Poor Ray. Things just went from bad to worse. Anyways, I hope that chapter was worth waiting for. **Next chapter**: Ray discovers exactly why Bryan enjoys showers so much and gets a lesson in dominance from Tala.

Read and Review please.


	6. Misery, Thy Name is Kon

**Desecration Smile**

**A/N**: This chapter is dedicated to Neena14, because thanks to her, I actually made an effort to finish this over the weekend so I could post it this week. Please R&R!

* * *

"Give me one good reason."

"Because I need you to protect me from Bryan?"

Kai toys with the rope in his lap, looking thoroughly unconvinced and utterly miserable. "You just think you need me to protect you."

True, I can handle myself in a fight, even against Bryan. Hell, I did a pretty good job once and I could do it again easily. But how can I fight off Wolborg? Even my kick-ass martial arts moves are useless against that monster, Kai should know that. But now is definitely not the time to bring up neko-jin eating pets. My focus has to be on my distressed boyfriend, who is still very much in shock over being voted the hottest bachelor in Russia.

Misery may be second nature for me, but not for Kai Hiwatari.

"Because I love you?"

"Well…"

He starts knotting the rope into a noose.

"Kai!"

"Sorry."

"Kai, I know you think you have good enough reason for hanging yourself and believe me, I wanted to do the same thing when I heard Bryan was coming, but did I? No, I stuck it out and things got better! Well, maybe not better since he brought Wolborg to stalk me instead, and I swear he gave that monster one of my headbands to get my scent because the velvet one has been missing for three days and I know I saw Bryan lurking around here-"

"Get to the point, Ray."

And that was…? Wait, for once I actually want to ramble uselessly, because the point, quite frankly, sucks ass. But Kai is giving me a half evil/half miserable eye, so I better spit it out before the noose makes its new home around his neck.

"You have mobs of screaming women camped out on your lawn and Voltaire is advertising you like a straight piece of meat to the entire world." I pause at the pained look on his face. Either the truth does hurt, or he's constipated, and I doubt it's the latter. "Maybe you better make a noose for me too."

A small smile, the first one since last night, flits across his face. I wish I could feel cheery enough to do that; right now I feel like jumping off a bridge. But as long as we stick together, things can only get better… right? Yeah, that always works – okay, so it only really works in crappy cartoons for five-year olds, but maybe I can apply it to Mr. Cynical Pants here.

"You have me and your friends to support you, Kai - well, maybe not Bryan - but you still have the rest of us. Even Tyson-"

"Has already called to set me up on a date with his third cousin twice removed, who is, apparently, 'awesomely hot' and 'aching for my bod'."

Someday I am going to kill that boy, as slowly and painfully as possible. I wonder if Tala would let me take Wolborg all the way to Japan…?

Swallowing my murderous urges, I try again. "Well, Hilary will-"

"Tell me that she's always felt there was something between us but she was too afraid to make a move because she thought I was happy being gay with you, but now that the 'truth' is out she can finally confess her love."

So much for being (and I quote) "friends forever". We may have been completely drunk at the time, but remind me never to listen to anything they have to say again, no matter how many tequila shots are having an orgy with my brain cells.

And why is Kai smirking at me?

"Max-"

Yeah, good ol' dependable Max would never do anything to wreck my relationship with Kai.

"Max offered to have a sex change so he could marry me and has already researched three adoption agencies and found one scientist interested in the possibility of male pregnancy."

"Oh."

"Where are you going?"

"To find myself a shotgun."

He loops an arm around my waist before I can slide off the bed and pulls me firmly against him. "And you were just going to leave me to put a noose around my neck? Thanks Ray, thanks a lot."

I toss the rope onto the carpet before allowing myself to be cuddled. "You were just kidding, Kai."

"Were you kidding about the shotgun?"

"Depends if you were kidding about Tyson and the others calling you."

He chuckles softly, turning over onto his back to stare at the ceiling. "I was. About the noose too."

I snuggle closer to him, wishing I could drown out the frenzied screams of the hundreds of single women crowded onto the lawn. From the sudden tensing next to me, I know Kai can hear it all too clearly.

"How long until all of them are gone?"

"Another two hours, maybe," Kai estimates, checking his watch before clasping his hands behind his head. "Nikolai is doing the best he can, but keeping them from storming the mansion is his first priority. Getting rid of them is up to my grandfather," he adds with a scowl. "When I called him earlier, he said he would send his people to remove them from the estate but…"

The only time Voltaire would send the cavalry was if a mob of axe murderers were chopping down the front door, not a mob of demented/horny women waving 'Marry Me Kai!' banners. No, I somehow get the feeling that he planned for all this to happen.

And if you want to know what 'all this' is, I suggest you take a look out of our window- but be careful, I almost passed out when I did this morning. Hey, you would too if you opened the curtains and found a reporter staring back at you. Especially when you remember that your bedroom is on the _third_ floor.

Bryan and Ian were able to chase him away by spraying the side of his helicopter with rubber pellets. But as much as I wanted to believe they were rushing to my defence (why I even considered the possibility in the first place is beyond me, but there you go), they dashed my hopes by taking a pot shot at me as soon as I stuck my head out the window to say thank you.

I never learn, do I?

Anyway, if you did look out of our window, you would see at least four hundred young women and squealing teenage girls, a horde of tabloid reporters all scavenging for juicy gossip or a glimpse of Kai (which is the same thing when it comes to Kai; he is notoriously camera-phobic), plus four news helicopters circling the mansion like vultures, all of whom have been gathering on the front lawn since the broadcast last night. Some of the women even pitched tents and camped out overnight, always making sure their 'I love you, Kai!' posters were in full view of the cameras.

Remind me to thank Voltaire with a kick between his legs the next time I see him.

"Kai, you know I love you, right?"

He nods an affirmative, one hand pressed over his eyes.

"Even though you bring Bryan into my life almost every single day, I still love you."

"But…?"

"Will you run away with me to Alaska?"

"Alaska?" he opens his eyes, looking amused. "Why Alaska?"

"Well…" I inch closer to him and start fiddling with his sleeve, "if Voltaire just happened to have a little 'accident' and landed up in hospital for a few months, say from someone dropping a brick on his head, Alaska would be the last place the police or reporters would think of looking for us!"

"Bryan slipped something into your tea again, didn't he?"

Really, why does he choose now of all times to be smart with me?

"Think about it, Kai, a little accident… just enough to keep him bedridden for a few months. Then you can clear up this whole mess without his interference and we can forget this ever happened!"

"I wish it were that simple, Ray."

"But it _can_ be that simple. Just tell him to get out of your life before he cuts me out of it!"

Kai looks annoyed. "You know why-" he begins, but I interrupt before he can continue.

"Your precious company matters more to you than being with me, doesn't it?"

"I never said that," he replies sharply, sitting up to face me.

"You sure as hell implied it," I retort, giving him the evil eye even though I promised myself I was going to be on my best behaviour today for his sake. But contrary to what anyone else (i.e. Bryan) may think, I'm no fool. I know that Kai, as a Hiwatari and the last male heir, has a duty to his family and his heritage. I know and I accept it. Nothing I do or want is going to change who Kai is.

But what am I supposed to do? Let the love of my life get married to some bimbo so she can pop out a mini-Kai and Voltaire can live (or preferably die) happily ever after?

"Ray," he takes me firmly by the shoulders, "nothing, not even my grandfather, is going to come between us. I love you and I choose to be with you. I've told you that every day we've been together. But you have to understand… my father…" his voice trails off before he swallows and gets a hold of himself again. "There are certain boundaries with Voltaire that I can't and won't push."

I may not know all the ugly details about what happened between Kai, his father and Voltaire (I would kill to know, but Kai would kill me if I pried) but I know better than to push when Kai puts up a wall, especially when it comes to his family. The last thing I would want to do is push Kai into a corner… if I did, I can honestly say I don't know what would happen. What Kai could, no, _would_ do to me.

"I know," I whisper softly, leaning forward to hug him. "I just wish things were different. I wish-"

He cuddles me closer. "What?" he asks, just as quietly and seriously.

I was about to say 'I wish you would let me give you a hickey', but I doubt that would go down well with Kai. Nope, better stick to something deep and meaningful. Something about eternal devotion, or a love that conquers all. Even a simple "I love you no matter what" will do the trick.

"I wish you would let me give you a hickey."

What? Giving him a hickey at this point in our relationship _is_ very meaningful for me. Besides, I make it a point not to deal in clichés.

Kai laughs, ruffling my hair. "The answer's still no."

"One tiny, insignificant bruise on your neck is not going to do permanent damage, Kai." I laugh with him, relieved that the tension of the moment is broken.

"It might. And if it's so insignificant, why is it so important to you?"

"Because it just is." I stare longingly at his neck and lean forward to pull the neck of his t-shirt down and place my fingers on the perfect spot, just below his ear and on the curve of his jaw. "Just there. Please?"

Before my fingers can start wandering, he grabs my hand and flips me onto my back, straddling a very willing neko-jin in one movement. Of course I would prefer if I was on top, but I do enjoy the view from the bottom where I can see Kai in all his assertive glory.

"Hmm, let me think…" he smirks. "No."

I sneak an arm around his waist, purring suggestively as I tug on his top. "I'll do _anything_ you want… I promise."

"You already do everything I want," he informs me smugly. "And even when you say no, I can always make you say yes."

Bastard. He's right, but he's still a bastard. Well, I suppose I could settle for just being kissed. After all, I did promise myself that I would be especially good today. And kissing Kai does have its perks, even though I'll be flashing fresh hickeys to Tala and the rest of his cronies for days.

"Mmm… Kai…"

This is heaven, mainly because his lips still have faint traces of honey from breakfast which makes him taste even yummier than normal. A kiss from Kai is even worth the smirks and taunts from Bryan, who never fails to gloat and point out the marks on Tala that he put there, reminding me for the millionth time that I've failed again.

But why is Kai licking my toes?

"K-Kai, stop… it tickles…"

He looks up from where he was sucking on my neck and moves obligingly back to my lips.

"Um… Kai…"

Wait a minute.

Kai was nowhere near my toes, but I definitely felt something wet and rough, like sandpaper. And it's a suspiciously familiar feeling.

"K-Kai…?"

My worst fears are confirmed when I feel what is unmistakeably a fang scarping against my big toe.

"Grrrr."

"AAAHHH!"

* * *

"Will you take me to the hospital?"

"No."

"Will you call your doctor to make an urgent house call?"

"No."

"Oh, so you want to sit there and watch me die of rabies. Thanks for letting me know where I stand on your priority list."

Kai, acting too much like Voltaire for my liking, is sitting there being a complete and utter bastard. I need sympathy, I need comfort and godammit, I need to be hugged, but he refuses to give in to me.

"I might be dying here, you know. If you even _care_."

"…"

"Kai, I need a doctor. Now!"

"I can get you an appointment with the best psychologist in Moscow if you want."

Trust Kai to be 'cute' in a time of crisis. All right, time to change tactics. If Kai wants to be sarcastic, I'm going to guilt-trip him so bad, he'll be crying by the time I'm through with him. Cue the big, teary eyes and trembling voice.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Liar! You don't care if I die of rabies!"

Kai pulls away from my poor mauled foot, which currently smells like rotting meat (which confirms my suspicions because I wouldn't put it past Bryan to feed Wolborg dead animals) and ignores my agony. "I never lie to you," he answers, successfully tugging his arm from my vice grip. "And you're not going to get rabies because of a tiny scratch from a healthy dog."

"Bryan probably injected him with rabies and sent him in here to bite me!" I insist and grab for him again but he evades me and I just miss falling off the bed. "And if you really loved me, you would be doing everything in your power to get me airlifted to the best hospital in the northern hemisphere instead of lazing around!"

Kai raises a brow. "You never miss a chance to take paranoia to new heights, do you? Dogs lick feet all the time, it's not proof that Wolborg was trying to eat you."

I scowl, cradling my injured limb with both hands. "But I told you yesterday this was going to happen and it did." I wriggle my foot in front of his face to focus his attention on my wound. "Look, he made me bleed!"

"I told you not to kick Wolborg in the face, but you did it anyway. And there was hardly any blood, Ray, it was one little drop."

Hmph, it was more than a 'little' drop, it was three drops!

"Kaaaiii…"

If I try hard enough, I might be able to squeeze out a few tears… and… there we go.

Kai cuddles me on his lap when he sees the tears threatening to fall. "If it makes you feel better, I had Wolborg put back in the basement," he offers.

No, what I need is for him to ship Wolborg back into the smoking pits of hell where Bryan found him (and believe me, Satan will welcome back his favourite pet with open arms) and send the demon boy packing – preferably to Antarctica.

"And I also arranged for you to have a tetanus shot."

"Oh, okay – _what_?"

"You wanted to go to the hospital," Kai reminds me smugly, "what did you think they going to give you there? A band-aid and a lollypop?"

I was actually hoping for something along the lines of a heartfelt apology and a kiss, not a huge needle stabbing me in the arm. Kai is seriously failing as a boyfriend right now, because this is not the tender loving care I expect. And if this is Kai's idea of TLC, it may be time for me to review our relationship because I never wanted a sadist for a lover.

"B-But… I hate shots! You know I hate them!"

"Too bad, Yulya is expecting you down in the kitchen in five minutes. Unless," he grins, "you really want to die of rabies?"

And let Bryan win? Let the boy demon have the final victory dance on my grave? Being eaten by Wolborg is a better alternative than _that_.

"Fine, fine," I grumble, "but I won't like it."

"I would be worried if you did."

I stick out my tongue and Kai chooses to ignore it (a wise thing when dealing with a less-than-happy kitty) and holds out his hand to give me a lift. "Come on, I need to talk to Nikolai. Or do you need me there to hold your hand?"

"No, I think I can handle it by myself, Kai," I bat his hand away and get to my feet with as much grace as I can muster (which, to be honest, is none). "I mean, how bad can one little injection be?"

* * *

"No. Way. _No freaking way_!"

"Quit being such a baby, Kon. Look, the needle is this small." Spencer pinches two fingers together, officially notching himself a place on my hit list just below Voltaire and Bryan.

I shake my head violently and push my chair back further, tucking my foot securely underneath me. Spencer has no reason to fear severed limbs like I do, because he's built like a truck and that 'small' needle looks like a _toothpick_ in comparison to his arm.

"Get it away from me!"

"Ray, dear, it will be over before you know it."

Yulya is trying to comfort me, but brandishing a needle the size and width of a sword in my face is only making me panic. I hate coming off like a coward, but I would rather let Bryan have his evil way with me for a whole week than get that stuck in my body.

"KAI!"

My soon to be ex-lover pokes his head into the kitchen. "I thought you said you could handle this by yourself," he says dryly.

I grit my teeth. "I don't want the shot."

"You don't have a choice."

"Yeah, I do. I can die with all of my limbs attached."

"When have you ever heard of anyone losing a limb from an injection?"

"I've heard stories!"

Kai exchanges a look with Spencer.

Uh-oh. Before I can bolt, Spencer clamps his hands around my shoulders, pinning me to the chair and effectively sealing my fate. Damn, who knew someone that big could move so fast?

"H-Hey! Let go of me!"

"This is for your own good, Kon."

"Sit down and be quiet," my now ex-lover commands. "You're getting this injection whether you like it or not."

I should probably cooperate with Kai since he is (hopefully) only doing this because he loves me… on the other hand, I am in a disagreeable mood today. "I hate you."

"As long as you don't die of rabies, I can live with that," Kai retorts, moving out of the way for Yulya to hone in on me with the needle.

Shit. Hell, desperate times call for desperate measures, even if I have to suffer as well. "And you're not getting any for a month, Hiwatari! Even if you do that evil trick with your tongue, I won't budge!"

Spencer turns green. Boy, you'd think the guy would be used to admissions like that by now. He lives with Bryan (the resident sex fiend himself) and Tala (who always seems to be up for it, because he sure as hell always says yes), who have sex every hour on the hour and I swear they have it timed. Believe me, I've seen them marching off to the nearest restroom in the middle of a restaurant if it's 'that' time.

I'm not one to judge since Kai and I have done that once or twice – look, the food was lousy, we were horny and we hadn't seen each other in two weeks - but last we had the manners to excuse ourselves from the table first before running off to screw in a public bathroom.

"Kon, I don't want to hear about your sex life!"

"Why, jealous?"

"You wish." Pointedly, he jerks his head towards Yulya.

Oops. A blush lights up my face like a Las Vegas casino as I remember that Yulya is the Russian equivalent of my mother, and my sex life, no matter how good it is, isn't something that my mother should be privy to.

"Uh…"

Thankfully, she hands the needle over to Kai, saying "I think you boys have this well in hand," before making a quick exit from the kitchen. I'm amazed that she isn't blushing, because my face would be identical to a cherry tomato if I was in her position, but then I remember that she's partly raised Bryan and Tala, who, to my woefully limited knowledge, have been doing the dirty deed since they were thirteen. And the two of them have no shame whatsoever. They wouldn't hesitate to do it in a public phone booth if they were in the mood.

I don't think Bryan is even capable of feeling anything except Tala and the redhead wouldn't give a toss one way or the other. What Kai and I do is the equivalent of a Disney movie when you compare us to Bryan and Tala, whose antics, quite frankly, should be considered illegal. Even their kisses are so violent that it actually looks painful and when they start groping… oh Buddha, I have to stop before my imagination ventures any further into Pervert-Ville and somebody notices.

"Done."

I blink, rousing out of my reverie about the sex lives of my boyfriend's best friends. "Huh? What do you mean 'done'?"

Kai wraps up the used needle and tosses it in the garbage before packing the syringe back in the medical bag. "Your eyes had that glazed look that you get whenever you're having a fantasy, so I just gave you the injection while you were distracted," he answers cheerfully.

I blink again and glance down at the tiny spot of blood on my arm. Whoa, sure didn't feel that one. "O-Oh. Thanks… I guess."

Spencer takes a step back, staring suspiciously at me. "You… you were having a fantasy while someone was poking you with a needle? Are you crazy?"

Wha-? The guy lives with three people who should all be declared criminally insane and locked away in a maximum-security prison to prevent Armageddon and he has the nerve to call _me_ crazy? He takes another step back when I get up and I feel a perverse jolt of pleasure. Hey, it's not everyday that I can notch up my score against the demonic quartet.

"Don't flatter yourself, Spencer, it wasn't about you."

"Who was it?"

I raise a brow and wiggle it suggestively. "Wouldn't you like to know."

He blushes fiercely before ambling out the door as fast as his pride will allow. "Kai, I'm gonna go train or something," he mumbles, almost tripping over his own feet in his hurry to escape little ol' me.

Kai bursts out laughing before calming down long enough to ask, "So what were we doing? Assuming it was even me, anyway."

"I was thinking about Bryan and Tala," I say casually as I open the fridge to look for something sweet.

"You were fantasising about _Bryan and Tala_?"

"Is that a problem?" I ask sweetly, savouring the moment almost as much as the chocolate bar in my hand. It's not everyday that I can shock the great Kai Hiwatari.

"Not unless you count the fact that now I have to kill two of my best friends before they tempt you into a threeway."

We both snort at that image. The only physical contact Bryan wants to have with me is his fist smashing into my face. And me touching Tala? Yeah, maybe if I wanted Bryan to personally remove all of my teeth with his bare hands.

Before I can come up with some crack about being in a threeway with Tala and (Buddha forbid) Bryan, Justin starts chirping about bringing sexy back. Kai looks down at his vibrating pocket with a start, before digging it out and glaring at me.

"I thought I told you to stop doing that," he hisses, fumbling with the phone as Justin warbles about letting someone whip him if he misbehaves.

I smile angelically, letting the chocolate melt in my mouth. Ah, there is nothing like the sweet taste of getting one up on Kai. I finally figured out the phone trick last night when I couldn't sleep because Kai wouldn't stop ranting about Voltaire and how "'this time he has gone too far!" Hah, and Kai thought I was just sending messages to our friends, explaining that Kai was still gay and not looking for a wife. You'd think he would know my mischievous ways inside and out by now – I was even laughing while I did it, how big a clue did he need?

But when I look over at Kai, my euphoria evaporates. The expression on his face… it can only be Voltaire. I keep quiet, not saying a word. Kai has been waiting for this since Voltaire refused to take any more of his calls after the yelling match they had this morning when Kai realised that the sea of women outside the mansion weren't going to disappear without his grandfather's help.

Their conversation, conducted entirely in Russian, is short and I wait nervously for Kai to say something. He shoves his phone back into the pocket and takes a deep breath before looking at me.

"He wants to negotiate."

"What do you mean, negotiate?"

"About this whole mess, and… I don't know." He shakes his head, but a suspicious feeling niggles at me. Kai knows exactly what Voltaire wants to negotiate about, but he's not telling me. His face is carefully wiped blank and if I didn't know Kai so well, I wouldn't suspect a thing. But I know this is much more than some stupid beauty pageant.

"Then you're going to see him."

He nods. "The helicopter should be arriving in the next ten minutes."

I don't even bother asking to go with him, my presence will only make Voltaire more hostile and unreasonable and Kai knows it. He touches my arm, bending down to brush a kiss across my lips.

"Think you can stay out of trouble until I come back?"

"If Bryan doesn't come looking for me."

Kai smiles, snapping off a bit of my chocolate bar. "I wouldn't count on it," he replies, chewing slowly. "Ian has enough ammo to start a small war. I don't see Bryan leaving until it runs out or Tala drags him out."

I smile back. "And Wolborg is in the basement, right?"

"Right," he confirms, kissing me again. This time it's on my cheek, a goodbye kiss. I watch him leave and I can't help feeling worried. Voltaire is capable of forcing Kai to do much worse things than host a beauty pageant. He wouldn't hurt him, not the last fertile male of his precious bloodline, but I know these negotiations are about me. About cutting me out of Kai's life before I ruin any chances of Kai having children.

And the more I think about it, the more I know that this is the chance that Voltaire's been waiting for.

* * *

I must be out of my mind.

I could have taken the other way back to my room, but no, I had to pick the way which just so happened to pass the room where Bryan and Ian were holed up. But the other way is blocked by a horde of servants trying to get some crazy girl out of the chimney. Can you actually believe she tried to climb down the chimney just to get a glimpse of Kai and profess her love?

Can you believe I am trying to sneak past Bryan without him noticing me?

Yup, I must have lost my mind, I'm more insane than the chimney girl. Even though rock music is pounding away (I swear the floor beneath my feet is moving) and both are laughing wildly, Bryan will hear me, I guarantee it.

A drop of sweat trickles down my forehead and I inch another step to the right. If I can get my timing right, I can dash past the door and down the passage to my haven before Bryan ever knows I was within torturing distance without Kai for protection.

But knowing my luck, Bryan is already lying in wait.

My heart stops beating when the music is suddenly turned off and I stifle a gasp. Does he already know? No, not even Bryan is this good… or is he? I press my ear against the door, wondering if I can figure out what the two of them are up to before they can carry it out on me.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

Dammit, why do I _always_ underestimate him?

Bryan, a can of beer in one hand (how his stomach can handle it in the morning is beyond me), is standing in the doorway with a predatory leer on his face. As I stare at him, unable to move in my petrified state, the music starts up again, some guy yelling about being 'down with the sickness'. The irony makes me feel sick. Ian looks up from his seat by the window, sees me, and turns back to target practice. Seeing Bryan torture me is nothing new, after all.

The demon boy keeps smiling, happy with the prospect of 'playtime' with the kitty, but it disappears when he looks to the empty spaces on my left and right. "What did you do to my dog, Kon?" he demands, his fist tightening around the can, which crumples with a sickening crunch.

I gulp. How does he do that? "W-What makes you think I did anything to Wolborg?"

"Because I told him to fetch the kitty and I know he found you, Kon, I heard you scream."

"Wha-? You did send him in there to eat me!"

"No, he was supposed to fetch the kitty. I never ordered him to eat you – good idea though," he muses and I see my life flash before my eyes. Bryan takes a step forward, his eyes narrowing. I would have taken a step back, but my feet are frozen solid. "Where. Is. Wolborg?"

Why, Buddha, _why_?

"Kon, what did you do with my dog?"

If I bolt now, I could make it to safety before Bryan finds out that his precious pet is locked away. Or I could get it over with and let him punish me now – it saves me having to find a new hiding place since he discovered about the last five. Shit, where is Kai when I really need him?

Bryan cracks his knuckles, the beer can now a crumpled mess on the floor. If I don't do something soon, my head is going to look like that. Well, you know what they say: desperate times call for desperate measures. This next move is a low one, but I have to do it for the sake of my physical and psychological safety. I even feel bad about using it on Bryan, believe it or not.

Taking a deep breath, I fling my arm out wildly in the opposite direction of where I need to run and yell, "Is that Tala walking around wet and naked?"

"_Where!_"

Bryan practically knocks me over to get a glimpse of a wet and naked redhead. Oh, how I love predictability. No one is as jealous and possessive as Bryan Kuznetsov. When he sees no sign of his boyfriend, he realises what I did and explodes.

"KON!"

His yell echoes through the entire house and I keep running. If I can get to my room, I might stand a chance until Kai gets home. If he catches me… I swallow. No, getting caught is not an option! But I can hear running footsteps thundering behind me, growing louder way too quickly. Damn, when did he get so fast?

I yank open the nearest door, failing to notice my ominously familiar surroundings. I slam it shut just in time, pressing my back against the wall, eyes shut in relief as I hear Bryan stampeding past me in a murderous rage.

Buddha, that was close. Now, I just need to hide out in here until Kai gets home and-

"Kon?"

My eyes snap open.

Tala is standing in front of me. But not just any Tala. This Tala is wet, naked and dripping in all the right places. Seriously, it seems like water exists just for this moment, so it can slide down his body and accentuate every perfect line and curve.

Of all the bloody bedrooms I had to run into, why did it have to be _theirs_?

"T-Tala!"

He blinks, looking annoyed. "You could learn to knock, you know," he says irritably, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around his waist to conceal a very impressive and very naked sight. Hmm, now I know why Bryan is so possessive… oh no. Oh Buddha, God and Allah, if Bryan finds me in here alone with his naked boyfriend, I'm dead meat. Forget being eaten by Wolborg, Bryan will rip me apart with his bare hands!

Tala frowns, cocking his head to one side. "You did something to Wolborg. What was it?"

I shuffle in place, looking at everything but Tala. I must look as guilty as the kid caught with his hand in the cookie-jar. "N-Nothing."

He looks thoughtful for a moment, but waves his hand in dismissal and says a rare, "Forget about it."

Liar. He just knows Bryan is already on the warpath and his boyfriend hates being deprived of the chance to punish someone, especially me. Suddenly, I hear hurried footsteps and a familiar grating voice still yelling my name. Bryan! I take a running dive and slide under the bed, throwing a wide-eyed, pleading look at the redhead. If I need to beg him, I will. But obviously I appeal to some shred of humanity still left in him, because he shrugs and goes to put some clothes on.

Sweet merciful Buddha, I just sold my soul. Literally. You just watch, Tala is going to make me pay him back for this, with blood, sweat and plenty of tears. I think I should have let Bryan catch me. At least he needs instantaneous and painful satisfaction, Tala likes to make the humiliation last. And if my presence prevents him from having sex with Bryan, which I pray it will… then I might as well kill myself now, because Buddha, God and Allah obviously hate me enough to make the rest of my natural life a living hell.

I squeak as the door slams open and Bryan bursts in.

"Tala, have you seen K-"

The sight of a barely clothed and still damp Tala is enough to stop anyone in their tracks. But this is the one person actually allowed to do something about it. I swear if they have sex right in front of me, I'll reveal myself to Bryan to protect myself from being mentally scarred for the rest of my life.

Without another word, Bryan strides across the room and nearly lifts Tala off his feet, attacking him with kisses hot enough to make me feel very uncomfortable on the floor. Damn, all I can see are their feet, but it still turns me on!

Oh no, now they're moving towards the bed.

What the hell is Tala playing at by encouraging him? It's like he's getting some perverted kick from me being under the bed while he and Bryan are going at it.

"Bry, wait."

Finally!

"What do you mean, _wait_?"

Uh-oh. Dead neko walking… yes, I may only have ten seconds to live. The white hot fury from a sexually frustrated Bryan is enough to scorch me, even if the bed is between us. I can almost smell my hair burning already.

"I need to dry off before I catch a cold."

The bed creaks as Bryan pulls back suspiciously. "I knew it."

Huh…?

"Kon is in here!"

What scares me is that he says it in a matter-of-fact voice, not even a question. I cringe, curling myself into a tight ball. Even though I now have eight seconds to live, I have to admire his stalking skills. If you ask me, he should charge fangirls for lessons – even if he would make a fortune and ruin my life at the same time.

"Don't be ridiculous. If you were after him, why would he come to me? Why would he hide in our room, the one place you are most likely to come back to?"

Boy, this is major payback material. Tala is going to make me be his personal slave from now till the day I die. I wonder, if I crawl out now and beg for mercy, will Bryan go easy on me?

"Wait – Tala, did he see you _naked_?"

Never mind.

"Stop overreacting. And no, Kon did not see me naked. Even if he did-"

Is Tala _trying_ to get me killed?

"-I don't care."

Yes, Tala definitely wants me dead. And to top it off, he isn't a very good liar.

"Now why don't you stop wasting time here and go after him before Kai gets home? I want to get dressed."

Bryan considers the possibilities of what he could do now that he knows Kai isn't around to protect me. Then he considers the possibilities of what he could be doing with Tala, who is already undressed for convenience. I can just see the battle raging inside of his twisted mind… stalk and torture Ray, or have sex with Tala…?

Torture… or sex? Believe me, this is a difficult choice for Bryan. On one hand, he loves to make my life miserable, but he can never pass up a naked Tala.

And you know, Tala isn't trying very hard to discourage him. It's more like he _wants_ me to witness this. That bastard has left me with two horrendously unfair choices: if I make a run for it, Bryan will catch me and make me pay for Wolborg and seeing Tala naked. If I stay, I'll be forced to listen to the two of them having sex and be psychologically scarred for the rest of my life.

And to think I thought Bryan was the evil one...

**TBC**


End file.
